Dear Pastor, Sermon Prep Is Worth the Effort
Sometimes it can be hard to remember that in the Lord’s goodness and grace he has called us to take up the most significant and fulfilling task in the world—to be a pastor-teacher.
Dear Pastor
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Dear Pastor, Walking in Humility Requires Courage
Coleman M. Ford, Shawn J. Wilhite
Walking in humility requires courage. To grow in our understanding of humility, we must attune ourselves to the wisdom of Scripture and the pastoral voices of history.
Dear Pastor, Slowing Down Might Just Save Your Ministry
Coleman M. Ford, Shawn J. Wilhite
In the past five years alone, how many reading this have questioned your calling, lost ministry friends and co-laborers, or have grown generally weary?
Dear Pastor, in a Celebrity Culture, Your Call Is Contentment
Our desire is to do well in ministry so that God is glorified. We want our work to be great so that people will see God’s greatness, not to show off our talents or to be greater than others.
Dear Pastor, Avoid the Common Pitfall That Will Sabotage Your Ministry
In seeking to be good stewards of God’s truth and his church, we must be mindful of the common pitfalls that can undermine our efforts to lead well.
Dear Pastor . . . Don’t Settle for the Status Quo in Your Preaching
We take up our call to the ministry believing the gospel is the power of God for salvation. Fatigue, fear, and even temptations to doubt the message we are preaching can cut the nerve of our zeal.
Dear Pastor . . . in a Lonely World, Cultivating Community Is Worth It
Of all the many things we do, cultivating spiritual community in a lonely world ranks among the most difficult, time-consuming, and personally demanding efforts.
Dear Pastor . . . Your Leadership Is Needed in the Pulpit
Pastor, the work of shepherding God’s people naturally involves and requires good leadership. There’s no more important place for that to happen than in your preaching ministry every week.
Dear Pastor . . . Don’t Undervalue the Sacraments
Many pastors and churches today grant the sacraments a low status in public worship, but the sacraments have played a vital role in nourishing God’s people throughout church history.
Dear Pastor . . . Let’s Cultivate Honesty in Our Churches—Starting with Us
We don’t have our Christian lives fully together. In Christian ministry, we necessarily stretch the pastoral metaphor because we shepherds are, inevitably and undeniably, still sheep.
Dear Pastor . . . Let Christ Preach
If preaching isn’t simply transferring data or trying to make people feel something through our charisma, what is it?
Dear Pastor . . . We Are Out of Balance
The world as God created it was designed with perfect balance. What is balance? It is everything in its right place doing what it was meant to do. We cannot even picture such a world.
Dear Pastor . . . You’re a Shepherd, Not an Entrepreneur
If we plant churches as pastors, not entrepreneurs, whose aim is to love Christ and feed and tend the sheep of Christ’s reward, then we can sleep well knowing our work will endure.
Dear Pastor . . . When You Wonder How You’ll Make It, Remember This
In my experience, this unsaid thing for sustaining a long, fruitful life and ministry sounds too basic to some who quickly dismiss it.
Dear Pastor . . . No, You Are Not a Failure
Our present failures make us long for future heaven, to hasten the day when the pain of failure and the torture of disappointment will be gone forever.
Dear Pastor . . . You Have Wonderfully Unique Opportunities to Counsel
Pastoral counseling is unlike any other form of counseling because of the many unusual opportunities a pastor has to engage lives. Here are seven unique facets of the pastoral life that open doors.
Dear Pastor . . . Home Is Where You Are Most Loved and Most Needed
I want to affirm something you already believe but might hesitate to embrace. You are not alone in your ministry.
Dear Pastor . . . Save Your Church from Yourself
Pastor, you also must keep a close watch on yourself. Neglect your own soul, and your public teaching, however seemingly fruitful, is a ticking time bomb.
Dear Pastor . . . You Should Follow More Than You Lead
Joanne J. Jung, Richard Langer
We challenge people to lead, we train and equip them to lead, and we celebrate and praise them for leading (or condemn them as the case may be). Followership, in contrast, is almost completely ignored.
Dear Pastor . . . You Can Serve Both Your Ministry and Your Kids
It is not easy to be fully committed to the people we minister to and to our families at the same time. But the strain of doing both (the balanced life) is our cross.
Dear Pastor . . . Pride Is a Subtle Enemy
How frequently does pride come with us into our studies and sit with us as we prepare our sermon? How often does it choose our subject and more often choose our words and ornaments?
Dear Pastor . . . Rely on Your Congregation in Ministry
D. A. Carson, John D. Woodbridge
Brother, we need one another in ministry. You should not try to be an evangelical superman and by yourself direct all the principal tasks of the church.
Dear Pastor . . . You Need to Recognize Your Limits
Our limits and weaknesses are not in the way of what God can do through us, but our denial of limits and our delusions of independent strength are.
Dear Pastor . . . the Sabbath Was Made for You Too
The exhaustion that comes from trying to hold things together in such a hostile climate eventually takes a toll on pastors.
Dear Pastor . . . You Need the Monday Gospel
Monday is the preacher’s dog day. Ask any of us. In the cold light of day we see just how far short we fell from what we wanted and hoped for.
Dear Pastor . . . Your Shepherd Doesn’t Care How Big Your Church Is
What the Lord requires of us is faithfulness. And while it’s perfectly normal for every pastor to want his church to grow, it’s also idolatrous to marry our validation and our justification to our attendance.