Issues in Pastoral Practice: Three Articles

Five Pastoral Errors That Can Kill a Ministry

Ministers are called, trained and equipped for ministry. That goes without saying, but though the calling might be there, the training and equipping sometimes fall short. That's not always the fault of the college or the mentor: sometimes it's because of personal flaws like pride, over-confidence or a poor understanding of what pastoral ministry is all about.

Of course, ministry's different in different places. But I think there are some surefire ways of harming your ministry, whatever the context. Here are five.... Keep reading

Four Hard Questions Pastors Should Continually Ask Themselves

When the apostle Paul challenged the believers in Philippi in their obedience to the Lord, he told them: “Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me” (Philippians 4:9). When he wrote the believers in Corinth, he said, “Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Though not perfect, Paul was willing to say, “You can imitate what you see in me.” Church leaders are wise to constantly evaluate their lives to ensure they can say the same thing. Here are four hard questions to ask yourself. Keep reading

Pastor, You Should Share The Pulpit

There are two laymen in our church who are good preachers. Both of them are obviously gifted communicators who love Jesus, His bride, and His Word. And we have it set up so that one of these men preaches about every six weeks.

We are not a large church. We don’t have a staff—just me. It's not a necessity that they fill in. I'm not out of town or anything. It probably even seems a little strange to some folks that I'm at the service but not preaching.

I love to prepare and preach sermons. Love it. It's easily my favorite part of pastoral ministry.

And these men are not getting paid to preach (whereas I am) and they have fulltime jobs outside of the church (I don't). So why have them preach?

I have a few simple reasons for sharing the pulpit. Some of these are particular to my personality and gifting. Some are pretty universal. Here they are.... Keep reading

What other reasons are there for sharing the pulpit?