Why Sundays Can Discourage Pastors Pastors are often discouraged. This is for a variety of reasons. Some pastors are left beaten, battered, and bruised by their congregations. Others are left burdened and discouraged by the normal things of ministry—unfinished tasks, needy sheep, financial stress, an upcoming counseling session, a deacons’ meeting that could go off […]

When Conviction Is Communicated Without Care Dear brothers, honor your sisters. In recent years, many pastors have found themselves in difficult positions and conversations as they seek to defend conservative biblical doctrine. In defending and holding to such doctrines, these shepherds are doing what they are called to do: Protect the sheep of God’s flock. […]

I used to be a church planter. Maybe I still am. I don’t know. All I know is that the church I planted more than a decade ago is no longer a church “plant.” It is an established church with elders, staff, property, and long-term plans for disciple-making. I am also no longer there. A […]

Two major storylines have dominated news coverage of American religion in recent years. One is the decline of Christianity. Writers have often based this theme on Pew Research Center reports about the rise of the “Nones,” or people who say they adhere to no religion in particular. One Pew headline, for example, declared, “In U.S., […]

Are creeds and confessions still useful today? The idea of such things leaves many Baptists with hesitation and suspicion. Today, creeds, confessions, and liturgies are often viewed as restrictive forms of formal religion and tradition—perhaps too Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. But throughout Christian history, these practices have served as longstanding means of protecting orthodoxy and […]

The Scriptures, particularly in its wisdom literature, depict prudence as a central habit “that denotes applying knowledge to some useful purpose.”[1] Solomon says in Proverbs that prudence acts in preparation and deliberation toward right acts: “every [prudent] man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly” (Prov. 13:16), and, “the simple believes everything, but […]

“She’s catatonic. I’m heartbroken,” he told me at the gym. “She’s only 26! My youngest daughter. She had her whole life ahead of her. Chances for anything close to a full recovery are incredibly low.” “Goodness, brother, what happened?” I responded. “She was severely fatigued. She went to the ER. Sodium was low. The doctor […]

He had completed every module. He had read the book we gave him. He had shadowed a veteran leader for a full semester and sat through our orientation weekend. On paper, he was the most prepared small group leader we had ever launched. Six weeks in, he called me and said, “I don’t think I […]