Posts Tagged ‘Practical Theology’
“Take Heed to the Flock”: Baxter and the Necessity of Pastoral Care
Richard Baxter (1615-1691) was one of the most influential pastors in church history. For nearly two decades, he labored as a Noncomformist pastor in the small town of Kidderminster. His gospel ministry there not only transformed the town, but changed the entire landscape of pastoral ministry in England as well. Known for his evangelistic zeal…
Read MoreWhy a Piano and Not a Praise Band?
Is there a reason that we use a piano instead of a praise band? You’ve asked a good and (in my estimation) important question. I should start by defending the proposition that music even matters. Some want to argue that for Christian singing, only the words matter, and that discussion about music simply isn’t important.…
Read MoreOn Reading Widely: Four Benefits for Pastors
“I just don’t have time to read widely,” says the modern pastor. Between preparing multiple sermons, planning outreaches, discipling believers, and so many other worthy activities that crowd his schedule, the pastor has little free time for outside reading. But if he made time, how would reading widely benefit him and his service in the…
Read MoreWhy the Dearth of Young Preachers? (Part 2)
As part of a study on why it is becoming increasingly difficult for churches to find young pastoral candidates, the president of Barna Research, David Kinnaman noted, “There are now more full-time senior pastors who are over the age of 65 than under the age of 40.” A shortage of young gospel ministers is not…
Read MoreWhy the Dearth of Young Preachers? (Part 1)
According to Barna Research, half of all American pastors are 55 years old or older. Pastors 40 years old and younger constitute only 15 percent of the total number. These statistics indicate far more than the fact that the average gospel preacher is older than in past decades. They show that there is a dearth…
Read MoreHow Churches Can Help Visitors
In our four decades of marriage, we’ve been members of six different churches and visited several others. Most of the time, a change in church has been made necessary due to my husband’s job sending us to a new state. A couple of times, we left for other reasons, but we don’t take leaving a…
Read MoreChurch Discipline: Guarding the Gospel
Ever heard of church discipline? Have you experienced church discipline or seen it practiced in a local church? Shortly after publishing Pioneer Missions, I had opportunity to discuss the book with several cross-cultural missionaries from around the world who read it, including Korean, American, British, and Canadian workers. One part of the book that provoked…
Read MoreIs Your Way Really God’s Way?
I have addressed in a prior post (see here) the necessity of observing the difference between function and form in Scripture. While the Bible is heavy on function (what we are to do) it is light on form (how we are to do it). In fact, regarding forms in the New Testament, we find that:…
Read MoreLogos 10: A pastoral review
Thanksgiving Day in Canada dawned with the news that Logos 10 was released! I rushed to my computer and got the download started. Alas, I was one of a few afflicted by some kind of bug and had issues. Logos technical support quickly identified the problem, issued a fix, and in a few hours, I…
Read MorePastoral Obscurity: the blessing of anonymity
About every six months, a small group of pastor friends and I get together to discuss a Christian book and pray together. It is a great time of ministerial camaraderie and encouragement. All of us are pastors of relatively small churches. None of us have churches with more than two hundred attendees, and most of…
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