Articles for tag: Pastoral Ministry

Christian Living

Empty

By Jim Tune Madeline Levine had been practicing psychology for more than 25 years when she began to observe a new category of unhappy teenager. As her book The Price of Privilege relates: “America”s newly identified at-risk group is preteens and teens from affluent, well-educated families.” Social and economic advantages notwithstanding, children of affluence “experience among the highest rates of depression, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, somatic complaints, and unhappiness of any group of children in this country.” Levine admits to being startled when a bright, socially adept, 15-year-old girl from a loving, wealthy family came into the office with the

November 11, 2015

The Secret-Driven Life

By Jim Tune (This column was first posted November 5, 2014.) To be real is to risk. I know many preachers who feel a deep reluctance (often well-founded) to reveal who they really are to those they lead. Henri Nouwen suggests that pastors are the least confessing people in the church. The expectations demanded of pastors in our Western culture are often unattainable, unsustainable, and soul-withering. I admit that I have sometimes allowed my own fear of vulnerability to push me into hiding. The trouble with life in the shadows is the double life it promotes in the shadow dweller.

October 23, 2015

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

Start Reading Books Like a Christian

No matter what you”re reading, as a Christ follower and believer, you have a unique opportunity and perspective every time you open a book.Â By Tony Reinke Perhaps intimidated by the intrusion of digital communications technology (Facebook, texting, Twitter), or perhaps overwhelmed by the dominant cultural force of the entertainment industry (television, movies, gaming), the church talks less and less about what it means to be a Christian reader. But Christian readers are best suited to engage books with benefit and discernment. This is true because there exists a distinctly Christian form of literacy. Christian Literacy Let me begin with

September 18, 2015

My Father, My Preacher

By Emerson Kennedy Have you ever wondered how much preachers actually do? Some people think ministers preach on Sunday mornings””and that”s all. Had my father not been a preacher, I might have been inclined to agree. However, as a preacher”s kid my entire life, I can say without any hesitation there is a lot more to a preacher”s service than what happens on Sunday mornings. I grew up in a small church of about 100 in western Maryland. And, like all churches, our congregation came with its own set of problems. I want to take you behind the scenes of

July 31, 2015

Chuck Sackett’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed severalÂ influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is fromÂ Chuck Sackett, preaching minister with Madison Park Christian Church, Quincy, Illinois. ________ Slavic Prochavska was a preacher in Prague, Czech Republic, who died a few years ago. I first met Slavic on the platform at the train station in Praha (Prague). Slavic was a leader in the days when Communist leaders punished him for being a preacher by withholding his asthma

July 30, 2015

Mike Baker’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed severalÂ influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is fromÂ Mike Baker, senior pastor with Eastview Christian Church, Normal, Illinois. ________ Two men have helped me think both as a Christian and a pastor for nearly 25 years. Both Cal Jernigan, senior pastor at Central Christian Church of Mesa, Arizona, and J.K. Jones, pastor of spiritual formation at Eastview Christian Church, Normal, Illinois, have impacted my thinking in great ways. J.K.

July 16, 2015

Rick Grover’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed severalÂ influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Rick Grover, senior pastor of East 91st Street Christian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana. ________ Wayne Smith, retired minister from Lexington, Kentucky: Wayne is a lifelong friend who taught me that our commission to love and serve people always trumps my own agenda or strategic plan. Leonard Wymore, retired NACC executive director, Johnson City, Tennessee: Leonard and my grandfather were best friends,

June 27, 2015

The Softball Sermon

By Daniel D. Schantz My father had a magical way with men. In his 87 years, my father led a host of men to Christ and guided several into the ministry. I think it was because Dad was more than just a preacher. He was first and foremost a truly fine man. Like Jesus, Dad was both godly and human, and men could identify with that. On Sunday, Dad was “the preacher,” but at Friday night church softball, he was just “Ed.” On Sunday my father dressed like a prince. The navy blue suits preachers wore in the 1950s seemed

April 16, 2015

19 Ways to Recognize a Hero

By Jennifer Johnson Real heroes don”t wear capes. They can”t fly or leap tall buildings or breathe underwater. Real heroes wear khakis and polo shirts. The younger ones wear jeans and untucked Diesel button-downs with pockets on both pecs. On good days they wear waders in a baptistery. Heroes answer the phone at midnight and change back into the jeans before driving across town to sit with a grieving family. Heroes still get up early the next morning to have breakfast with their kids. Heroes are strong enough to unite opinionated volunteers and gentle enough to dedicate new babies. Heroes

February 14, 2015

Family & Relationships Marriage

You Fight for What You Love

By Ryan Rasmussen My wife and I had recently moved across the country to Boulder, Colorado, in an attempt at a new life, a new ministry, and although unspoken, a fresh start to our relationship. We”d been married three years and had very little fruit to show from our commitment other than a 6-month-old daughter, who was the light in our darkness. I had accepted a student ministry position at a church in town and was excited about what God had in store for this new pastoral adventure. In the meantime, to supplement our income, my wife took a job

December 27, 2014

Devotionals

The Agony and the Honor

By Daniel Schantz I rose from my chair and shuffled over to the pulpit. My hands were shaking and my voice wavered. “I”m sorry,” I said to the congregation, “but I have nothing for you today. I just couldn”t come up with a sermon.” Members of the audience stared at each other in bewilderment. Then I awoke, relieved to find I was just having a nightmare, one that I have had on and off all my life””that I am stepping into the pulpit unprepared, the ultimate disgrace. Writing sermons is the hardest writing I ever do; it is exquisite agony,

October 18, 2014

Church & Ministry Teaching

The Need to Read Widely

By Bert Crabbe I love books, especially old ones. I love my Kindle too, but ultimately, I”m an ink and paper guy. The great benefit of being able to travel light and still have an abundance of reading material with me keeps me tethered to my tablet when I”m away or in the air. But at home? There”s nothing quite like the feel of a book in my hands. However you”re taking in your media, “Pastors need to read” seems a widely accepted (and fairly self-evident) maxim, and for more reasons than one. If you”re a preacher, that means you”re

July 25, 2014

Christian Living

Right Here, Right Now

By Rick Rusaw (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I”ve Ever Received.”) I had moved to Fort Myers, Florida, to begin my first ministry in a local church. I was a young man, and I was filled with aspirations, not only for this opportunity, but for other places with other opportunities. It wasn”t that I considered this church to be merely a stepping stone, something to endure until a better situation arose. No, it was a wonderful place with plenty of opportunity. But I also knew that those who do their ministries well are usually offered leadership positions

July 19, 2014

Christian Living

The Secret to a Level Head

By Dudley C. Rutherford (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I”ve Ever Received.”) My dad told me many years ago that whenever someone compliments or criticizes you, you should only believe about 10 percent of it. For example, I”ve had people come up to me after a sermon and tell me it was the best message they”ve ever heard. That”s encouraging to hear, and there might be some truth in their words. But if I allow myself to steep too long in flattering remarks, I”ll eventually drown in my own pride. On the other hand, I”ve had people

June 28, 2014

Church & Ministry Church Leadership

Practical Advice for Productive Ministry

By LeRoy Lawson From Midterms to Ministry: PracticalÂ Theologians on Pastoral Beginnings Allan Hugh Cole Jr., editor Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2008 Leadership Handbook of ManagementÂ and Administration James D. Berkley, editor Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007 Start with Why: How Great LeadersÂ Inspire Everyone to Take Action Simon Sinek New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2009 One Size Doesn”t Fit All:Â Bringing Out the Best in Any Size Church Gary L. McIntosh Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, 1999 Everybody knows there”s a world of difference between life in the seminary and life in the church. Almost everybody complains that seminaries and Bible colleges

June 20, 2014

Apologetics & Worldview

Failure to Convince

By Jonathan Williams “I don”t need your God to make me good.” I was having lunch with Tom, a close friend and devout atheist. I ordered the Reuben. He went light with the salad. The topic was heavy. “Then what”s your foundation for goodness and morality?” I asked him. “What stops you from being a compulsive liar or a career con artist?” “Morality and goodness are biological,” Tom replied, “they”ve been with us from the beginning. That”s how our species not only survives, but also thrives.” I brought up the late Jeffrey Dahmer, a convicted murderer and sex offender, who,

December 12, 2013

Jim Nieman

Devotionals

‘Happy Incarnation Day’

By Matt Proctor Your theology of the incarnation matters. It affects how you view your body, your problems, your ministry””and your celebration of the holiday before us. Your theology of the incarnation matters. Santa Claus thought so. Saint Nicholas, the bishop of Myra in Asia Minor in the early fourth century, is the historical basis for the Santa myth. Born to a wealthy family, Nicholas used his entire inheritance to help the poor, sick, and children in need. Stories of Saint Nick describe him saving young women from slavery, providing grain in a famine, and sparing innocents from execution. It”s

August 12, 2013

Church & Ministry Church Leadership

What about the Preacher”s Family?

By Dennis Bratton Fifty percent of preachers” marriages will endÂ in divorce. Eighty percent of preachers believe pastoralÂ ministry has negatively affected their families. Thirty-three percent say being in the ministry is an outrightÂ hazard to their family. Local churches can change this picture. Here are some simple ideas any congregation can follow to make sureÂ their preacher”s family is an example for every family. Preachers live in a continuum of unfinished tasks. At the end of nearly every day, the preacher can think of calls he needs to return, a sermon or lesson he needs to write, someone who requires a personal visit,

July 26, 2013