Recommended Books (Spring 2022)
Beautiful days are back! Spring has sprung in most areas of the country, and we are all excited about the possibility of getting outside and soaking up some wonderful vitamin D. However, we should not let the outside lead us away from sharpening our minds and spirits through good books. Below you will find a collection of reading material that we have found beneficial. We hope you will find some to place on your reading list for the...
Relentless Ministry and Relying on Jesus: A Devotional Reflection on Mark 6:30–44
Over the past year and a half, the coronavirus pandemic brought myriads of challenges, heartaches, and headaches to everyone. For pastors and church leaders in particular, ministering in the midst of the pandemic proved frustrating. Luddite pastors like myself spent countless hours figuring out the technological means by which we might minister to our congregations (running a camera, building church websites, creating a social media...
Recommended Books (Autumn 2021)
If you have not yet noticed, we are all very limited. Our wisdom flickers and fails constantly. Of course, the ultimate source of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, but we can also garner wisdom from observing the created order. It is especially helpful to consider the thinking of others who have devoted time to study subjects with which we are unfamiliar. Even authors who write on topics with which we are expertly familiar offer new and...
Book Review: Small Church Essentials: Field-Tested Principles for Leading a Healthy Congregation of Under 250
Small-church pastors often set out to read practical ministry books only to find that most of them are geared toward larger churches. The ideas they promote would not work in a smaller congregation, so the small-church pastor must take the general principle of what the book teaches and adapt them for his own setting. Of course, pastors of larger churches must also discern how to apply the principles set out in a book, since so much...
Specks, Logs, and the Need for Consistency
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? (Mt. 7:1–3, ESV) I serve as an adjunct instructor in philosophy at a local community college. Of late, I’ve been teaching World Religions, a course that many students take to...
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