Why do I care about Vacation Bible School? Kids and their parents need to hear the gospel and about thirty-percent of the families who attend our VBS are unchurched. Pastors, make Vacation Bible School a priority. I recognize that it may seem old fashioned and some of you have actually changed the name or maybe …
What are a pastor’s core responsibilities? Several years ago, Thom Rainer, conducted a survey with his 12 deacons to discover what the church they expected of their pastor. He admitted to being surprised at the findings of his survey: in order to meet the minimum expectations of his deacons, he needed to spend 114 hours per …
I grew up in a blue-collar family. My dad was a mechanic for twenty years and my mom managed the high school cafeteria. My first jobs involved manual labor. I learned to work on cars, mow lawns, paint houses, and repair decks. I went off to college and got a white-collar education and then to seminary …
I am a professional pastor. I have been in vocational ministry since I was 19 years old. My undergraduate degree is in Christian Education, my masters is in divinity, and my Ph. D. is in missions and evangelism. I have been educated in institutions and in the laboratory of the local church. And yet, I was …
Six years ago Angela and I began reading and praying about foster care and adoption. A few weeks ago we completed our journey from foster care to adoption and now legally have two more children. At the time of our adoption, the legality was the only thing that was missing. They have been with us for over …
I am not a PK (that is Pastor’s Kid or Preacher’s Kid for the uninitiated among us), but I am raising four of them. Since our first son was born 9 1/2 years ago, parenting has been a top priority in our home. When our oldest daughter came along it didn’t take long for us …
A member of my church asked me to write a response to the recent news from Brandon and Jen Hatmaker regarding their stance on same sex marriage and LGBTQ. The firestorm (though probably more of a tempest in a tea kettle) began with the publication of an interview between Jen Hatmaker and Jonathan Merritt that …
Criticism. As a pastor I know that I have to expect criticism and learn to deal with it, but that can be easier said than done. Criticism comes in all shapes and sizes and some of it is easier to shrug off than others. For instance, when a senior adult woman told me my pants were too …
Preaching. It is not the only thing that we do as pastors, but it may be the most important thing we do as pastors. Nothing you do on a weekly basis affects the entire church the way that preaching does. Additionally, the ability to teach or preach is the only distinguishing mark that separates pastors …
I have read a lot of books on preaching. Since my dissertation focused on preaching, I have read many more than I ever expected to read and I still enjoy them and consume them regularly. Like books on other subjects, some books on preaching are better than others. Some are worth your time and some …