Church
Online Good Friday Service: Seven Cries of the Cross
Good Friday is a tradition that has been celebrated for centuries by the Christian church. It is meant to be a day of remembrance about the crucifixion of Christ and His earthly death on the Friday before Easter Sunday. For hundreds of years, churches around the world gather in the afternoon or evening to reflect on the death of Christ...
These 6 Lessons Will Help You be a Better Pastor
To be known is to be loved. All people have a deep need to belong; when we do not have a sense of belonging, we will look for it relentlessly. We long for this in our families and with our friends. In the relationships where we are known intimately yet still accepted, we count those as safe places to...
Who Has What Authority in the Church?
What is the relationship between congregational authority and the elders’ authority? When it comes to authority in the church, we must remember that the ultimate goal is to provide discipleship that leads people to greater maturity in Christ. Ephesians 4:11–13 describe the roles and gifts of leadership in the church as being for the sake of “equip the saints...
When Is An Elder Disqualified From Ministry?
We all have treasured items we keep for special events. It may be a shirt, a dress, a pen, dishes, or a piece of jewelry. We pull them out to be used for something unique, but otherwise, we leave them tucked away and protected from daily use. These items are set apart. In the same way, the person who is...
How to know you are experiencing spiritual abuse
With the news of James MacDonald being fired and countless cases of sexual abuse reported in the Southern Baptist Convention last week, we are left to wonder — how does this kind of thing happen in Christ's church? Why can a place that is meant to build trust leave so many feeling like they have lost all trust? After I...
Why is Church Membership Important?
Why is carefully practicing church membership and discipline critical to the growth of the saints and the evangelism of the church? The aim of the Church is to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ by pursuing people to believe in Jesus and turn to Him for salvation. When a person believes in Jesus Christ and repents from their old way...
What is the Local Church?
And why are the reforming markers of the church (preaching and ordinances) so crucial for understanding what the church is? The church is a group of Christians (those partaking in the New Covenant with God by believing in Jesus Christ) who, together, identify themselves and others as followers of Jesus through regularly gathering in His name, preaching the Gospel, and...
Easy Solution for the Pastor with Too Much Email
I remember when email first came onto the scene. Wait, I can send this message and my friend will get it right away? It's like writing letters, but without the lag-time! Fast forward to now, and there are few pastors, including me, who don't wrestle with how to manage email in a way that prevents it from controlling our...
A Pastor’s Sabbath: What to Do When Sabbath is Sporadic
“You need to take some time off soon,” Donna said. She runs our HR department at the church. “I know. I am not good at taking time off. I have never been,” I retorted. Taking time off is not something that I despise. I love downtime. I don’t look for work just to stay busy, avoid homelife, or to “escape” reality...
5 Essential Things to Consider When Planning Communion
Communion services are one of the most important services we have the opportunity to lead our churches in on a regular basis. Communion should never be something that becomes so routine that it loses it impact, it should also be something that is done regularly and with great intentionality. When planning a communion service, here are five things to keep...
14 Surprising Facts You May Not Know About Pastors
By definition, a pastor is one who "shepherds his flock." You know this means he preaches, officiates weddings, and probably has meetings in his office to explain some theological question; but what is the role of pastor really like? Here are 14 surprising facts you may not know about pastors: We fight the balance between pleasing...
Evaluating the Question “What Salary Should I Expect?”
When evaluating the question "what salary should I expect?" for any given job, it is helpful to consider what "pay" means and how you should respond. Pay is more than a compensation for time, talent or effort. It is a valuation of a person’s contribution to the greater cause. A person is paid by an organization to keep them doing what they...
