Surrendering to ministry rightly establishes the pastor’s motivation. After all, the pastor’s incentive should not be material gain, the applause of men, or any other earthly enticement. Rather, the preacher should, like the apostle Paul, know in his heart, “If I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion;... Continue Reading

It is easy for a group of believers to experience stability for so long that their eyes begin to look more to the body’s health and benefits than their Savior. When the manifestation of stress begins to show in the congregation, we begin to realize, even as a church, we all still have a chronic... Continue Reading

Empathy can be exhausting; caring endlessly about the feelings of others can leave us feeling drained and swallowed up. The only way our culture can counteract these concerns about empathy is to talk about boundaries, and the need to know how to have appropriate ones with others. This value of empathy has no foundation of its... Continue Reading

I thought of the song “I Have Confidence,” from The Sound of Music, where Julie Andrews declares: “I have confidence in confidence alone; besides which you see I have confidence in me!” In the comment section of the YouTube video, someone wrote, “I sing this when I’m having a bad day.” But this is not the... Continue Reading

In Jesus’s day Israel sent the lepers away; no one would go near them. They were unclean and could not be helped. The lepers knew their time was short and they would soon perish in misery. So when Jesus came preaching repentance and the kingdom of God with great power and healing, the lepers put... Continue Reading

The day Jesus rose, he planted an invincible, unshakable flag of hope over the grave. How could anything ever surpass his victory? Only he could author a more glorious day, and he has, a day that is coming soon. “The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed”... Continue Reading

The silver lining of COVID-19 is it gives church leadership a chance to change its entire thinking on what its members must do to reach this world. Because the world is now even more suspect to the invasion of their space, we will have to learn how to get beside others in a way that... Continue Reading

Men may feel under great pressure at times as providers and leaders. Without God, living out all their roles adequately, or even with excellence, is virtually impossible. It’s a high calling to be ultimately held accountable for all that occurs in their family (and in the case of elders, the church). It is at this... Continue Reading

This heavenly-granted earthly spine is a rare commodity. My guess is we will see two groups on the rise in the near future. We will have the rise of the spineless running parallel with the rise of the backbone from below. Believers in the Courageously Crucified One should want nothing to do with either. So,... Continue Reading

I don’t care what color or creed or faith background they come from. I am seeking to share the good news of the gospel with a person made in the image of God so that they might be reconciled to their Creator; and when a person understands that, false stereotypes quickly fall by the wayside. What... Continue Reading