Urban bivocational ministry
When people think of bivocational ministry, the image that comes to mind often includes a small rural church led by a pastor who may have come to ministry later in life or has less formal training.
Perhaps the reason why this stereotype is so strong is because small rural churches for generations have been faithfully led by pastors who worked other jobs. Such pastors were often local farmers, carpenters or cowboys who felt a call to ministry and labored to serve the church while remaining in their profession.
There are many small churches in urban areas, however, that also are served by bivocational pastors. This might surprise some people because urban areas have more people, and therefore one might think, larger churches that are able to fully compensate pastors. Yet, a growing number of urban pastors are bivocational. Keep reading
4 Ways to Become a Horrible Pastor
No one sets out to be a horrible pastor, it just sort of happens. My guess is you aren’t reading this article to learn how to be more horrible as a pastor, but to make sure that you aren’t on the list. Sometimes horrible pastors are bad from the very beginning, but often they don’t start out that way. Their slide into horribleness is a gradual process. Being a horrible pastor is easy; you just need to love the wrong things. Keep reading
Why Pastors Need Mentors
Just a couple of years ago, in the city where I am a pastor, I saw another pastor go through a series of moral failures that the elders of the church believed disqualified him from pastoral ministry. This was a fairly influential pastor in our town and word traveled quickly about the events and his removal from leadership.
Usually, my first instinct would have been a judgmental attitude in my heart about his poor decisions, but by the grace of God, I had a different immediate thought: “That could happen to me.” There were no current habitual sins or vulnerable situations that were alarming or present in my life, but the words from Paul to the Corinthian Church, warning about Israel’s history, still occupied my mind: “So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12 HCSB).
What happened to that pastor could happen to me in an instant. I had a sense of urgency that I would not become another illustration in Paul Tripp’s book, “A Dangerous Calling,” and knew that could not be done on my own. Keep reading
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