Pastors, regardless the pressures you face in your congregation to “produce the numbers,”  focus on caring for souls.  Be faithful to evangelize, preach the gospel every week, pray for conversions, but make sure your primary focus is on caring for souls.  When we stand before God to give an account for the souls of our... Continue Reading

The median tenure of a pastor at a church is around four years. Simply stated, over one-half of pastors leave a church before their fourth anniversary. And our research shows that the time of greatest fruit in a pastor’s ministry does not begin until somewhere around years five to seven.   Imagine what might take place if... Continue Reading

It is beginning to cost something to be a Christian in America—not as much as in many places in the world or in much of history, but more than it used to. And, as living for Christ costs more in our culture, it will mean more in our context. Churches that are preaching the Gospel... Continue Reading

“Jefferts Schori said that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby “is not going to call a Lambeth [conference] until he is reasonably certain that the vast majority of bishops would attend.” The likelihood of a “vast majority” of bishops attending in the near future is slim.” Turmoil that has rocked the worldwide Anglican Communion for the... Continue Reading

“At this time, the exact amount of money has not been made public, but sources say that is approximately $2.7 million, and could be in the form of grants, so that the presbytery will not have to vote again on the settlements with the churches. Sources say that two other churches still have a complaint... Continue Reading

“Multi-site churches are the current trend in evangelicalism. The great question is, will they be able to make a generational transition? Will they be able to hold together when the main preaching pastor—who is usually in himself the center of gravity for the whole enterprise—goes off the scene? And how much institutional and spiritual fall-out will... Continue Reading

It is my joy to baptize the children of believers and to see those children treated, not as little strangers until they make their profession of faith, but as members of the family of God. As such they are instructed in the full width of Bible truth and in the catechism of the church. It is the most... Continue Reading

“We believe that God has begun something very special through Mars Hill Phoenix.  As things come to an end on Sept. 28, we want to explore next steps to continue as a church family and essentially start a new church of what was Mars Hill Phoenix. Our first service together would be Oct. 5, at... Continue Reading

“It is not my job as Moderator of the denomination to defend the actions of the church,” Rada wrote in his column. “It IS, however, my job to make sure that the work of the General Assembly is correctly interpreted.” So how well did Rada interpret the Detroit assembly’s actions to redefine Christian marriage from... Continue Reading

Everyone makes mistakes, but sometimes we are mistaken about what we call mistakes. Driscoll’s assessment of the situation is debatable. Did he make a mistake by throwing off the authority of his elder board and bringing outsiders in?  One interpretation of the current situation at Mars Hill is that the cure has been worse than... Continue Reading