Pastors face a lot of cross pressures from week to week, especially when the stakes are high. Easter brings both high hopes and lofty expectations. Being able to lean on the cross and the resurrection gives us the strength to speak the truth of hope in Christ and leave the rest to Him.
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The victorious God of Easter morning can relate all too well to whatever anguish you might be suffering on your own Holy Thursday and Good Friday—as a pastor, the weight of your vocation, and the unknown trials of your congregation.
“The big problem is, we only trade conclusions with each other. We never share how the conclusions came about. We never get the backstory.”
May you attach your sense of self, your meaning and purpose, your moral compass, and your hopes and dreams to the message delivered in that upper room and to the actual moment of sacrifice on that hill outside the city.
So this season, how about scanning your heart and life? How about looking for those places where you still need to die to self? How about crying out for the willingness to take up your cross and follow Jesus in his death?
Let go of things you tend to prize. Let this season of sacrifice loosen your hands and free your heart. Let go of some of your comforts, things that have perhaps comforted you too much, so that your heart is free to seek a better Comforter.
This National Marriage Week, author John Trent talks about how to give and live “The Blessing!” to your spouse.
This week is National Marriage Week, with Valentine’s Day in the midst of it. It’s a great time to pause, take a breath, and do two things – celebrate marriage itself and Bless your wife.
When ministry leaders put the spotlight on what has great impact, things will start to change. As the marriages of your church go, so goes your church.
Pastor Kevin A. Thompson recently took time to talk about how to pastor couples into becoming better friends, partners & lovers.
Pastor Pastor Kevin A. Thompson recently took time to talk about how pastors can maintain a strong marriage while dealing with the many demands of their vocation.
Marriage is a sacred covenant that is a legal, public, and binding agreement. Just as you wouldn’t sign on the dotted line if you knew the car salesman was shady, you most definitely shouldn’t sign if you think the one you are marrying is hollow in character.
The church has a lot of hard thinking to do. But as we abandon our unquestioned answers, I’m hoping that we’ll be able to love God—and our neighbor—better.
It’s so important for pastors to ensure that they’re carving out time to nurture their relationships with those who matter most.
In pastoral ministry and in our Christian walk in general, we can easily ignore or lose sight of the reality of Spiritual warfare because it is an invisible battle.
What is your compass? What is your North Pole? Don’t settle for trusting only yourself. Pick up the Bible to gain a new understanding of God, and of the world and everyone in it—including yourself.
As ministry leaders, we need to constantly remind those we teach that mindless Christianity does not please Jesus. We need to stay focused on sharpening our worldview.
A weekly dose of these five practices of gratitude, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a genuinely grateful pastor.
As Pastors, we have to be real honest about our struggles. We also need to help out others who are facing difficult struggles of their own.
Dr. Jeff Myers teaches us that bumper-sticker theology is not biblical theology. Now is the time to abandon the unquestioned answers that keep us in the shallows when God calls us to go deep.
