How Not to Use Texting in Ministry
Texting has many uses in ministry, but it lacks the face-to-face element that some situations require. Emojis don’t always cut it.
Don’t use texting to say something you wouldn’t say aloud. The past few years have been full of people getting in trouble or losing their jobs over things they say in texts, emails, and other electronic means. If you are not willing for something to be read aloud, you should not put it in writing.... Continue Reading
4 Assumptions Pastors Can No Longer Make About Church Giving Patterns
While it’s still true that people stop or slow their giving when they’re unhappy, that is no longer the only reason for a drop in giving.
One of the first financial principles I was taught about pastoring was to keep an eye on the church’s giving patterns. Not because ministry is about money, but because a church’s offering patterns are like the canary in the coal mine. They’ve always been one of the earliest, most accurate barometers of congregational displeasure, dysfunction... Continue Reading
You Promiscuously Call One Another Brothers and Sisters!
We need to know appropriate, pure platonic love in the relationship that will outlast marriage and erotic love---siblingship
The church has tried to be a godly voice in the midst of a world seduced by the sexual revolution. But often, the church has swung the pendulum too far to the opposite extreme, also over-sexualizing men and women, by imposing guidelines on not only friendship between the sexes, but even on acquaintanceship. For both... Continue Reading
Some Thoughts on Preaching
The preacher’s sermons should focus on both the head and the heart of the hearers.
My own sense is that pastors, on the whole, spend less time in prayer and meditation over their sermons than they should. The sermon only begins with the exegesis of the passage or topic. It is brought to flower by being the subject of much reflection, much prayer, and an intimate knowledge of the congregation.... Continue Reading
Get Ready, Youth Group Leaders: Teens Twice as Likely to Identify as Atheist or LGBT
Barna findings on Generation Z pose new challenges for the church
This generation is more sensitive to LGBT issues overall, with 37 percent saying their gender and sexuality is “very important” to their sense of self, compared to 28 percent of their Gen X parents. Imagine Generation Z—the 70 million kids born between 1999 and 2015—and you probably picture them staring at their devices. A... Continue Reading
The Mechanistic Church
When church members do not feel as though the church is “working” for them, they grow discontent.
When pastors or elders grow discontent in waiting on the Lord to bless His appointed means of grace, they can slide into mechanistic ministry mode–trusting in programs or external accommodations to do the work of ministry for them. This is one of the most difficult issues to expose, since those who begin to do these... Continue Reading
Once We’ve Confessed
How should churches handle sexual sins from 20 years ago?
Christians differ over how churches should address sins ministry leaders commit. Matthew 18 describes church discipline as a private process that involves the congregation only if the offender refuses to repent. But James 3:1 states church leaders “will be judged with greater strictness.” All agree what happened, but the aftermath roils a cauldron of... Continue Reading
New Harvard Research Says U.S. Christianity Is Not Shrinking, But Growing Stronger
Is churchgoing and religious adherence really in ‘widespread decline’ so much so that conservative believers should suffer ‘growing anxiety’? Absolutely not.
“Once secularism rears its head and fundamentalism responds with a clear alternative, moderate religion strikes many as redundant. Either you believe the stuff or you don’t. If you do, it makes sense to go for the real thing, which takes a firm stand against godlessness.” If your Christianity is reconstituted to the day’s fashion, don’t... Continue Reading
Did the Church Fathers View Their Own Writings as “Inspired” Like Scripture?
When they wanted definitive teaching about Jesus their approach was always retrospective—they looked back to that teaching which was delivered by the apostles.
Second, there is no indication that the early church fathers, as a whole, believed that writings produced in their own time were of the same authority as the apostolic writings and thus could genuinely be contenders for a spot in the NT canon. On the contrary, books were regarded as authoritative precisely because they were... Continue Reading
John Piper Ignites Debate for Saying Only Men Should Teach at Seminaries
In an installment of the Desiring God podcast "Ask Pastor John" posted Monday, a listener named Scott asked Piper about his opinion of women serving as professors at theology schools.
Piper responded that he was working on the assumption that the Bible teaches the Church must be led by “spiritual, humble, biblically qualified men,” referencing 1st Timothy 2:12, which reads: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.” Bethlehem College & Seminary Chancellor and DesiringGod.com founder... Continue Reading
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