Posts Tagged ‘Pastoral Theology’
False Teachers Bring False Messages
Near the end of Paul’s third missionary journey, he “determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost” (Acts 20:16). Nonetheless, he desired to meet with the Ephesian elders to encourage them and bolster…
Read MoreHandling That Sticky Situation
“Pastor, this is a potential “sticky situation.” What should we do about it? We need some answers. We need wisdom.” Ministry life is made up of a multitude of decisions everyday. Some are black and white. Others, no so much. Pastor, how do you handle the “sticky situation” questions/decisions? Moses in Numbers 9 gives us…
Read MorePastoral Preaching
[Note: the following comes from messages given by Ken Brown at the Michigan Expositor’s Summit a couple of years ago. — Editor] The Preacher’s Task If you were on your deathbed and had a final instruction to leave to your successor, what would it be? 2 Timothy 4 is the last chapter of the last…
Read More4 Lessons I’ve Learned Through Sickness.
Last week on social media author Carey Nieuwhof asked a simple question: “What’s your biggest leadership challenge right now?” Lying in my hospital bed I laughed and said to myself, “Funny you should ask.” At that very moment, our church team was planning a large 4th of July outdoor picnic and service while I was…
Read MoreFINISHING WELL: Closing a church with integrity and hope
As ministers of the Gospel, it’s natural that we would want to preserve and revitalize the institutions that have accomplished God’s work in the past. But what do we do when we realize that a church has lost its effectiveness, and efforts to revitalize have failed? Should a church like that be kept alive at…
Read MoreHow Churches Provide for Multiple Pastors
A Biblical Study on the Question of Multiple Pastors in a Church (Part Four of Four) As a church grows and/or as the spiritual and administrative needs of a church increase, the pastor(s) and/or the congregation may sense the need for adding another pastor. When this happens, they should prayerfully consider men who are available…
Read MoreThe Congregation and its Relationship to One Pastor or Many Pastors
A Biblical Study on the Question of Multiple Pastors in a Church (Part Three of Four) The NT teaches congregational polity. This means that authorities outside the congregation do not make decisions for the church (as Presbyterian churches practice). It also means that a single pastor or a group of elders do not exercise ultimate…
Read MoreBalancing Pastoral Leadership with Pastoral Accountability
A Biblical Study on the Question of Multiple Pastors in a Church (Part Two of Four) While the NT does not require every church to appoint multiple pastors, it does reveal that multiple churches benefited from this arrangement. That said, how did multiple pastors within a congregation relate to one another? On one hand, any…
Read MoreHow Many Pastors Did NT Churches Have?
A Biblical Study on the Question of Multiple Pastors in a Church (Part One of Four) What is the right number of pastors for a church to have and how should a church approach the selection of a new pastor? To answer these important questions, we need to consider thoughtfully what the NT says (and…
Read MoreYou Have a New Pastor, Now What?
A friend of mine recently entered a new ministry. I don’t know the details of his move, or the history of the church, but the news sparked some thinking about churches and new pastors. My own ministry will face that prospect within the next decade, most likely. Sometimes churches and pastors struggle with the transition.…
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