Month: August 2008

Pastors Leaving?

I try to do more here than just post links to other blogs, but the issue of pastors leaving the ministry is a huge concern for me and should be for all Christians.  Of course, there is enough blame to go around, churches blame pastors for wanting to leave, pastors point to problem people.  Regardless …

Read more

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance

Bruce Ware is a gift to the Christian church, but, his work is sometimes not very readable.  Father, Son, and Holy Sprit challenges that stereotype.  This work on the Trinity is orthodox and well thought out as well as approachable by both pastor and laymen. Ware dives deep into the relationship shared by Triune God …

Read more

Preaching The Immorality of Abortion, Not Politics

I rarely speak to politics in this arena and I am rarely moved to tears. However, the following video simultaneouosly brought tears to my eyes and provoked me to bring politics to the fore in this post. I publicly support no candidate, but this video should be seen by every person in America. I do …

Read more

You’re Not As Smart As You Think You Are

Preachers should always consider humility a must and not an option.  Though preaching with power and conviction is a necessity, that does not necessitate a prideful attitude about our preaching or the knowledge we presume to possess.  Mark, over at www.seminarysurvivalguide.com has written a great post on why a little seminary is a dangerous thing.  …

Read more

Thought For The Day

“Live like men who have something to live for; and preach like men to whom preaching is the highest exercise of their being” (Charles Spurgeon, An All-Round Ministry, p. 273).

Mark Driscoll on Strong Language

I picked this up from Joe Thorn, and I think it is worth your time as a preacher to hear what Mark Driscoll has to say on this sticky subject.  Driscoll has come under alot of scrutiny because of his offensive and crude language at times–especially in his early years of ministry–but he is not …

Read more

Why Churches Die

Ergun Caner and Mac Brunson have written a book that is both entertaing, encouraging, and informative.  In Why Churches Die: Diagnosing Letal Poisons In The Body of Christ, Brunson and Caner expose many of the leading causes of division within the church such as spiritual apathy, gossip, and bitterness.  In their own words, A truly infected gossip …

Read more

Preaching With Power

Spirit-filled preaching is not a new concept.  It was in the power of the Holy Spirit that Peter preached the great Pentecost sermon recorded in Acts.  However, I fear that the prominence of faith-healers and health and wealth preachers that often appeal to miraculous signs and wonders and power from the Holy Spirit has caused many to shirk away from seeking the filling of the spirit in preaching. 

 

            Modern era preachers ranging from Spurgeon to Lloyd-Jones and even Vines speak of this power using terms like “unction” of the Spirit.  The book of Acts records that the apostles’ preaching was accompanied by signs and wonders.  Those signs were not intended to draw attention to the preachers, but rather to validate the message from God.  We have become so leery of the frauds in our society that many preachers have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. 

 

Read more

Comeback Churches

Ed Stetzer has written a winner in Comeback Churches. Many “how to” books exist to direct pastors and churches how to grow. Stetzer has not written one of those, instead he has written a book that focuses on research of over 300 churches that were either plateaued or in decline and made a turn around. …

Read more

Elders In Congregational Life

The recent surge in reformed theology among evangelicals has also led to an increased interest in a plurality of elders as leaders of the church. This relationship may simply be from the fact that many reformed writers have come from a presbyterian background that emphasizes the plural elder model, or from the community emphasis that accompanies reformed teaching. Regardless of the reason for the interest, it remains that the plural elder model is becoming increasingly popular, even in some Baptist churches.

Phil Newton, in Elders in Congregational Life argues that the plural elder model, though not the norm in Baptist life, has always existed in Baptist life. Quoting current and former Baptist leaders such as John Piper,Mark Dever,Benjamin Keach and W.B. Johnson as well as ancient and modern confessions of faith, Newton convincingly shows that plural elders have always been present in a minority among Baptists. Building on that foundation, the author aims to show that the minority opinion was the correct representation of the New Testament church.

Read more