Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Pastors have lots of decisions to make every day. What to do? What not to do? How to do what to do? Why not to do what you are not doing? And so on. In the midst of your decisions pastors need to think through the proper combination of new and old things. New Things Start new […]
Nothing besides the Bible may have as big an impact on your ministry as sports. No fooling. We are a sports crazy nation. You need to study, understand, utilize and be on guard about sports. Sports as God Far too often the things of God come in second place to sports. Families choose traveling hockey teams over Sunday morning worship. […]
You ought to get involved in a book club or two along the way. A book club will help you read books properly. Mortimer Adler in his book, “How to Read a Book,” teaches that there is more to reading a book than reading it, much more. Reading, really reading a book, is a very intentional, multi-step process. It is […]
Pastors must preserve the good name of parishioners. It’s in the Eighth Commandment. A wise pastor early in my ministry gave me one of the greatest lessons on talking about members. Someone was slicing and dicing a member, and this now sainted pastor said, “I don’t know. If I had been through what he is going through, I probably would […]
Memorization of scripture is an ancient practice. Almost as ancient is complaining about it! Somewhere I read something about the benefits of memorization. The author said, “Bible memorization is a good way to have good things stuck in your head.” Better yet, someone else has suggested that we replace the word “memorization” with the phrase “learn by heart.” Yes, that […]
Much has been written in other places about the importance of the Church and its congregations meeting the needs of the community. Indeed, ministries like coat banks, food pantries, after school youth centers, preschools, recovery groups and so on help meet the needs of the community. But there is another way to look at what the community needs from the […]
Think in outlines. To consistently communicate well, think in outlines. Proper application of this principle will have wide ranging application to your ministry. The skill you learned back in fourth grade will carry you through your ministry. Outlines force better organization and sharper points. Outline everything. I first came across this “outlining insight” in a little book entitled “It Takes […]
The life of a parish pastor is busy. It is a lot of things, but it is NOT a 40 hour a week thing. When we are busy, two things suffer: diet and exercise. Watch your diet. Jesus said it is not what goes into our mouth that makes us unclean, but what comes out of our mouth that makes […]
As a pastor you should have a wide range of interests. Some new. Some old. A smattering of lots of things will provide a treasure house for ministry. One of the things that you should have a smattering of is Latin. There is nothing like a Latin phrase to help sell a point. Lay people appreciate a well spoken and […]
Wear nice ones. This is especially important for Holy Communion services. When people come forward to receive the Sacrament, they are not quite sure where to look. Many think it is too proud to look up, even if they are looking up to the cross. They won’t close their eyes for fear of missing the Sacrament as the celebrant distributes […]