Grief is a good thing and all who have experienced this kind of loss needs to grieve.  However, how do you help a 5-year-old girl experience grief that is good and helpful?

This might surprise you, but one of the most dangerous times for a pastor are the hours following his Sunday sermon. You step down from the pulpit still wired and juices flowing as you greet those leaving from the service.  Then, like after a good jog, you begin to calm down, your body starts to return to “I’m not preaching mode” which then brings a temporary, but real emotional let down with it.

A while back The Gospel Coalition published an article that I wrote, where I tried to answer the challenging question: “Is My Child a Christian?”  As you can imagine, it has created quite a buzz. Here is an excerpt of the full article. There is also a link to the full article on Gospel Coalition.

It has come to call upon me yet again. The old, familiar visitor who decides to drop in for a visit. It would be nice if she would call to see if she is welcome before she shows up at the door, but she doesn’t. Then again, depression has never been a kind visitor, never thoughtful, never asking if this may be a good time for me to have her visit. How long will she stay this time? Just today? A week, a whole month? What if she never leaves? That is always the fear. That she is going to permanently move in, and yet history tells me that she will eventually leave.

Pastors, in our best efforts we cannot prevent the relational struggles, difficulties, and frustrations that come with caring for God's people.  They are broken and so are we.  But if their understanding of our love and commitment never wavers, I consider that a win.

In light of this seven year anniversary, it has been helpful to revisit several of these posts I wrote to honor Jackson and in doing so, honor the Savior he so faithfully served while here. I re-read them with the hopes to strive to be as faithful as he was. I have been freshly reminded of the sovereign God Jackson preached so tirelessly that continues to give me hope as I still feel this loss.

As I have watched our church through the cycle of growth, plateau, and decline several times in the last 15 years, I have learned there are some good, healthy, and exciting ways God shows to be at work in a church even through decline.  I want to challenge this common way to evaluate local churches with 5 reasons we want a church decline that demonstrates health and life, not dysfunction and death.

In the tough, early years of my ministry, I thought I was the patient one. I was enduring through the criticisms, judgments, and actions to remove me. As the years have passed, I have realized that it was the other way around. These faithful saints, wounded by previous pastors for decades, were being patient with me.

There are all kinds of different  sermons a preacher can preach:  Doctrinal, evangelistic, topical, and several other kinds of sermons that are not bad in themselves and have their place.  My deep conviction is that the best way to preach God’s word faithfully and accurately is to preach expository sermons. 

I started along a broken and bumpy road on January 28. Frankly, I knew this road was on the horizon but never wanted to travel there. It came with a phone call. The voice was calm but the words came like an avalanche, throwing me into a state of shock and despair. My oldest daughter was dead. Her struggle with drug addiction, that had robbed her of so much, had taken her life. The news took my breath away.

Pastors, hold fast to what you know to be true and right.  Love those who love you as you love those who don’t–at least right now.  However, don’t be surprised when you wake up one day (years from now) and find that a church member who has been cold to you for years suddenly has warmed up.

What is wise counsel before making changes in your church?“Preach the Word, sacrificially love those people, and do not change anything for a while.” That is the foundation, building form that I ask 3 questions for you to ask yourself as you move to bring the change that is needed and how to do so with discernment and wisdom.

I find many pastors, especially younger ones, are regularly wrestling with the question “how long should I preach?”. The pressure to answer this can be self-imposed, or forced by those in your church who complain your sermons are too long. Think like a shepherd as you determine the length of your sermons.  Push them to grow.  Nurture them where they are now.  Then, trust that God will use his word and your efforts to find that balance every pastor should seek.

There is no easy remedy, medication, or quick fix that can prevent the preaching “hangover”.  There are, however, several practical efforts I make every Monday that are tremendously helpful to fight through the fog. Here are 5 suggestions for your consideration.

Based on the emails, notes, and phone calls I continue to get, trust me…your pastor needs encouragement.  He needs to know that what he does week in and week out means something to God as well as those for whom he labors.

Have you ever tried to pick a favorite hymn or Scripture passage? Impossible! At least it is for me. I had similar feelings when my pastoral interns asked me to pick my top books every pastor should read. Nevertheless, they demanded this of me and I conceded.

Marriage is hard enough, but add ministry into the mix and you have a recipe for a potential mess.  My work with pastors and their families cause me to see a lot of the messiness that exists in pastors’ homes.  There’s plenty of the same mess in my own home.  The combined stress of marriage in ministry is a unique situation that demands an intentionality to keep a marriage or ministry from imploding.

“Daddy, why does our church hate us” it takes it to an entirely different level of concern.  What is a pastor to do?  I have several ideas, but I will start with this one:

Since the nursing home is commonly viewed as the transition point between hospital and home, it is good to be considerate of both taking an interest in their living space as well as any health concerns that may be present.

When we stand before God to give an account of the souls entrusted to our care (Heb. 13:17) awkwardness and uncomfortable silence will be an unwise excuse to use before our Chief Shepherd.