If you could write a letter to someone before you died, what would you say? Many of us would write to our spouses, children, or close friends to remind them how much we love them. Or perhaps some of us would write to that person who we had withheld forgiveness from for so long to […]

When I was in high school a pastor put Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper in my hands and it changed my life. It helped reorient my worldview around a sovereign God who called me to spend my life for the things that mattered. That book was a cheap, but enormous investment in my […]

I recently visited with some of the senior saints in the church I pastor. I have been asking them this question: What do you wish young pastors knew about pastoring senior adults? The responses have been interesting but perhaps not that surprising. In this post, I will share some insights from these conversations and provide […]

I have often struggled understanding what I should leave up to God’s sovereignty and what is my responsibility.  Some people emphasize God’s sovereignty in salvation almost to the exclusion of human responsibility. For example, when William Carey planned to go to India as a missionary, he was told by one minister, “Young man, sit down. […]

As the nights darkness caves in, your feet tread the dusty, narrow, corridor-streets High cement walls nestle your traveled bones; enclosing you completely into the dense life surrounding you Heavy doors rest half open, handles of all different designs worn from overuse Windows sit like eyes, wide-open, waiting Waiting for someone, something, to bring forth […]

Let’s be honest, evangelism can be intimidating. For most, it can induce certain anxiety that can be crippling. It is easy to leave this high call that every believer has to a select few – elders, extroverts, or “experts.” Where does this intimidation come from when it comes to evangelism? In some cases, personality is […]

If we have conditioned our minds to think in the short-term only, we will find that most of ministry is not only unsatisfying, but deeply unsettling. We will find that we view ministry in the short-term as well.