'Leadership & Ministry' Tagged Posts (Page 2)
Memorized Scripture: An Aid to Ministry, Sometimes in Surprising Ways
Awhile back, I finished memorizing Philippians. Since that time, I have tried to keep those four chapters memorized — a harder task than I imagined! Also in the days after memorizing this little book, I have had three unexpected experiences that have shown me that memorizing Scripture is even more beneficial for church leaders than I might have originally thought. The first unexpected experience happened during an elders’ meeting. We were discussing an issue in the church when one of…
How We Use Our Statement of Faith
Churches have historically used confessions or statements of faith in order to summarize and clearly identify what they believe. Many historical confessions have been preserved, and are used by churches to this day. Instead of adopting an historical confession, we have chosen to use the following summary of biblical doctrine, entitled Holding Fast the Word of Life, as our statement of beliefs. Listed below are several important things you should understand about the purpose of our statement of faith, and…
Another Concerning Report About SBC Churches
If you were a pastor of a church of 80 members, with 23-24 people attending on average each Sunday, would you say the church is healthy (or 800 members with 230-240 attending)? If 4 or so of those 23-24 were not members, but children or guests, how would that affect your view of the health of the church? What if more than a third of those 23-24 didn’t attend any small group? I’ve just described the SBC churches (and some…
A Merciful Awakening, Please Lord
Though one can in some ways understand the desire to be inclusive (without expecting repentance) in the name of love as espoused in most mainline churches, it is a sad pattern that has emerged by that conviction —- the more inclusive they have become, the more they disintegrate. This pattern has been almost painful to watch, as literally millions have left these churches while they press on to disregard the true exclusivity of the gospel, that is, the good news…
A More Spontaneous and Genuine Evangelism
It was not Jesus’ intent to say that the individual Christian must change locations in order to evangelize. But it is most certainly the whole church’s responsibility to see to it that we make disciples where we are, now. Evangelism is not to be done later when the move takes place, or when the trip is taken to another far off country, or when the special evangelistic project commences, though it is certainly inclusive of these. Yet, nothing is more…
Deacons in the New Testament: Questions and Answers from the Elders of Christ Fellowship of Kansas City
The office of deacon has been subject to a wide variety of practices and interpretations, even among biblically minded Christians. Much of this variance stems from the fact that few New Testament passages mention the office, let alone explain its function. Yet the biblical information we do have indicates that deacons are a vital aspect of “how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the…
Thoughts on Improving Baptisms
Since water baptism is so important to the churches, I want to put forward a few ideas that may help churches make more of this important symbolic act. What I’m suggesting is in the way of pastoral advice, not doctrine. You can take or leave these ideas, but in my own experience and through information received from many pastors over the years, these suggestions could make this experience much more memorable and effective. Most of these suggestions will apply to…
A Simple Bible Discussion Guide: Five Hard Questions
Me? Lead a Bible study with lots of spiritually helpful interaction? The answer is “yes!” This is a simple Bible Discussion Guide for any group. Using this approach, your study can be as deep as you wish to make it, and cover as much time as you are able to give. Most Bible study groups will want to go through a complete book of the Bible, or a well-defined portion of a book, such as “The Sermon on the Mount”…
Suggestions For Pastors When Your Church Is Not Happy With You
Years ago, in a church that was experiencing good changes and lots of growth, I heard from various sources that the many people were not happy with me. This floating disapproval went on for some time. As a younger pastor this was extremely disconcerting. Like most pastors, I was concerned about being liked by the congregation that I was given to lead—a natural tendency. But mainly, I didn’t want the church to suffer through distraction, and, if I was leading…
Starting Churches with No Money
I don’t want to presume that I know how you ought to start a church, but I’m increasingly less than satisfied with the kind of approach to church starting that takes loads of start-up money. Often U.S. church planters spend a year or two raising funds for the launch of their new church. Here are the reasons I think this is often (though not always) unwise. I don’t want to labor to prove my points, as if there is no…
Immediate Signs and Lasting Fruit in Visitations of God: Responses
Listen to Jesus . . . In the parable of the Sower (Mt 13), the soils represent the varied human hearts. They vary as to whether or not the message of Christ is received in such a way that it will produce fruit. What good is soil that will not produce fruit? Every farmer knows this dilemma. Good seed on bad soil isn’t useful for his purposes. Sometimes the right message of the gospel is not able to penetrate the…
The Painful Course of Inclusivism Without Repentance
Though one can in some ways understand the desire to be inclusive (without repentance) in the name of love as espoused in most mainline churches, it is a sad pattern that has emerged by that conviction —- the more inclusive they have become, the more they disintegrate. This pattern has been almost painful to watch, as literally millions have left these churches while they press on to disregard the true exclusivity of the gospel, that is, the good news that…
Why do Some Pastors Deliberately Avoid Teaching Doctrine?
I have been involved in leading churches for four decades, with an emphasis on church planting in the last few years. I’ve also visited and addressed hundreds of churches around the world and have had the privilege of meeting thousands of Christian leaders. Through this time I’ve watched an unintentional doctrinal imprecision on the part of many pastors become intentional. In other words, I have witnessed a new “conventional wisdom” emerge. Simply stated it is the “wisdom” of attempting to…
Childhood Conversion
A woman came to humorist Will Rogers, saying, “I struggle with this problem. Every time I look at myself in the mirror, I’m proud.” He said, “Ma’am, that’s not pride, that’s a mistake!” Now I know that you are proud of your children, but you have never been as proud of a child as a woman I met who claimed that her five year old daughter had never sinned! She was serious. I realize that this woman was not doctrinally…
The Integrity of the Local Church
The following is a portion of a conference message presented to the Midwest Southern Baptist Founders Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, March 14, 2001 [revised 2022]. I have chosen chapter 5 of 1 Corinthians to help us consider the integrity of the New Testament Church. This is a short chapter with only 13 verses out of which I wish to uncover five observations. Before I read this passage let me tell you a story that took place in 1837. A protracted…
Moses’ Speech Problem
Some of the most potent speeches ever heard by men were given by Moses. Consider his speech recalling the episodes in Israel’s history on the plains of Moab before his assistant Joshua would lead the Israelites over to the Promised Land. And his eloquence seen in the “songs of Moses” in Exodus 15, Deuteronomy 32, and Psalm 90, is unparalleled. His song in Exodus 15 is sung in heaven (Revelation 15:3)! No Wordsworth, or Dickinson, Keats or Frost will be…