Anxious to reopen your church and gather together again? Me too. We all are. I believe the most important principle that every church will have to consider is how to honor the social distancing principles provided by the CDC and recommended by state and government officials. For any church to gather again on a Sunday morning, each church will need to start here and gradually lift these restrictions as circumstances allow.

When we as pastors are attacked or criticized by those in the church, we have the option to defend ourselves. We can fight back. We can argue our case. In most cases, it is a “lose-lose” battle any time a pastor’s wife embraces the task to defend her husband. Therefore, what is she to do? Here are 3 suggestions.

How do you teach a group of 4-6 year old kids what a pastor is and does? This is something any pastor should be able to do, so pastor, how would you go about this? This article represents my efforts to explain a pastor’s task in the form of props I brought with me to class for the kids to see, touch, and ask questions.

In light of the tendency to oversimplify, or bog down your young engaged couple with too much to do in pre-marital counseling, here , Brian Croft writes of are 3 areas he finds helpful and thorough, whether you have a few weeks or as “many weeks as needed” before the big day.

How does a pastor deal with not just the mud that is now on his face, but the one who threw the mud?

All Christians should be looking for ways to engage in spiritual conversation with others with hopes to talk about the gospel. Yet, many struggle to see when those doors are open or how to try and open them. Here is one easy way to engage others in a possible spiritual conversation that I was taught many years ago and has proven quite effective when asked at the right time.

Here are 10 qualities I look for that I feel are not necessarily deal breakers, but nonetheless, are very important for pastoral ministry and fall within the framework of the fruit of the spirit in a Christian’s life:

Aspiring pastors are usually chomping at the bit to become pastors. Rightly so. Because of this, those aspiring to pastoral ministry often times dream to the future to one day serve in that capacity and miss some very significant ways he can serve his wife now that he cannot once he becomes the pastor preaching every week. Here are a few of those ways:

Charles Spurgeon is celebrated as one of the most gifted, dedicated, brilliant, and impacting preachers and pastors in history. This honorable distinction is given by most because of his piercing, articulate, Christ-centered, and Word-driven sermons that were heard and have been read by thousands all over the world. Because of the popularity that Spurgeon reached in his ministry, his faithfulness as a very young pastor is often overlooked.

A faithful servant is one who has been found doing their Master’s will. To that end, every pastor, called by Christ, will search the scriptures to find their duty and, in dependence upon the Holy Spirit strive to fulfill that duty.

Speech fillers are such a part of our natural communication style that they can be difficult to identify and overcome, but there is hope. Here are a few ways I have tried to face my own unnecessary speech fillers and helped others identify and overcome their own.

A few years ago had the privilege of baptizing a new believer. I quickly came to realize this was not going to be the typical discipleship scenario (as if there is one). He is an elderly man who cannot see well and more importantly cannot read or write.

Dear brothers, if you find yourself discouraged, angry, wondering why some of your people do and say what they do and you can’t take it any more…do not forget the debt to mercy you owe. It is a debt greater than you and I could ever payback. It is a debt that should weigh heavier on our joyful hearts than the most difficult person in our church.

I often get asked this question, as many churches affirm the distinct roles between pastors and deacons, yet confuse these roles functionally. Particularly in SBC churches, the deacons commonly carry the title of “deacon” but actually function like a pastor with “pastoral type” authority. Many factors can cause this, but a primary reason for this confusion is short-term pastorates. Pastors come and go. But the deacons remain and feel the absence of this missing office. Nevertheless, the Bible has distinct roles for these two biblical offices.

Church splits are very unfortunate and painful experiences anytime they happen, but what made this split that much more tragic was the reason for the split. What do you do if you feel the Lord calling you to unite those two churches to become one? Should this be done? Brian Croft writes his thoughts on this topic.

As common as miscarriage is, it is stunning how many well-meaning people have no idea how to best care for those who have lost an unborn baby. Here are a few tips for those interested in knowing helpful ways to care for a couple who have just experienced this loss and be sensitive to the pain they feel.

Pastors, as you prepare to preach God’s word and feed the souls of your people this week, make sure that word you study has changed you. Make sure it is a part of you and that you truly believe what you are preparing to preach so that you are able to preach with an earnestness that only comes from someone who has met with God and experienced his help.

In the last post, I discussed how a pastor can be certain he is regularly shepherding everyone in his church. In it I explained a system to pray and contact every member of the church in one month. This is based on the shepherding efforts of a smaller church, so naturally I can anticipate the question, “That’s great, but what about those who pastor at a larger church?” This post is for you.

Though we are shepherds who will give an account for each soul in our care (Heb. 13:17), we all still have this tendency to gravitate to those we either love to be with the most or who make the most racket, thus demanding our attention. Because of this, there are church members who unintentionally slip through the cracks. In seeing this in the early years of my ministry, I came up with this system that has become a very effective way to care for our folks and to cut down on unnecessary and unintentional neglect.

God calls pastors not to be superman, but to be faithful. As pastors seek to be faithful every day in their ministries, God’s sovereign will is being accomplished. Why is that not enough? Because a pastor brings with him to his church his own brokenness, personal struggles, and unhealed scars deep in his soul where God’s grace in the gospel has yet to affect. Pastors struggle to find their true and full identity in Christ and when pastors fail to show up secure in Christ, they show up in these false ways