Articles for Pastors

Altars were significant in the Old Testament for meeting with God. They are mentioned over two hundred times.

In preparing for a meeting among pastors, a friend of mine asked me to reflect on the meaning of friendship for a church leader. Friendship matters. "I work alone" might be OK in a movie, but it's a terrible idea in the ministry.

"I wish we could snap our fingers and enjoy immediate trust. But, in most churches, it just is not going to happen quickly. It will take five to seven years."

The bottom line, hard-to-believe truth is that the path to thriving faith on the other side of any transition—including this pandemic—is plain, but many won’t take it. My observations from over two decades, combined with real sociological data, are surprising.

Although in the local church world, we may not see its impact right away, it is going to affect your church and mine. Does your church leadership understand inflation?

Studies have shown that individuals in need of mental and emotional health assistance can be helped just as well by lay counselors and caregivers as by professionals in these areas, so gifted church members can be a resource to pastors in sharing this load.

So we must put away our legalism and our antinomianism. We must agree with Scripture, nature, and most of the reformers. Both legalism and antinomianism must be rejected for the sake of truth.

Is there a place for people with same sex attraction in the church? How about in your church? Could there even be a place for same sex attracted people to serve and lead in ministry?