7 Checklist Items for Your Next Church Search
Consider these seven key items to look for and prioritize when you embark on your next church search.
Articles on Church Leadership
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Introducing ‘The 9Marks Church Leadership Toolkit’
The 9Marks Church Leadership Toolkit helps leaders assess the health of their church, equip elders and deacons, and learn biblical strategies for serving their congregations.
10 Things You Should Know about Shared Church Leadership
God loves patience, so he imposes a way of governing that requires humble listening and trust that he is working in the lives of others. God loves humility, so he gave us plurality.
7 Tips for Navigating Criticism as a Pastor
Receiving criticism is part of pastoral ministry. Expect it and be ready to learn from it so that you can grow in your walk with the Lord and in your service of the saints.
How the Reformation Transformed Church Architecture
The Protestant Reformists believed that Scripture is our final authority—and that made a difference in the layout of the church itself.
Podcast: What It Takes to Persevere as a Pastor (John MacArthur)
Seasoned pastor, John MacArthur, reflects on what it takes for a pastor to persevere through the challenges of a long and faithful ministry.
Why a Pastor Needs to Learn His Context
To faithfully pastor those who are culturally different from you, the first thing you should do is learn as much as you can about your context.
The same grace that saves sinners from the penalty of their sin also instructs them in holiness.
Why Youth Ministry Can’t Function Like Little League
The job of a youth pastor involves equipping the whole church to invest in the whole lives of young people.
The Character of the Christian Minister
Christian ministers must be vigilant, prepared to endure.
The Most Important Part of Youth Ministry
What attracts people to ministry to youth? Why are they in this field?
7 Things I Prayed for My Husband through 30 Years of Ministry
Marriage to a man in any particular profession has particular difficulties. Over the years, I have learned to pray for the needs of my husband that are distinct to his calling as a pastor.
How to Train Your Youth Group for Real Ministry
The first priority for students is increasing their ability to competently read, study, understand, and apply the Word of God.
Dear Pastor, Keep This in Mind When There Is “Too Much to Do”
D. A. Carson, John D. Woodbridge
A young friend in pastoral ministry asks for suggestions when there is “too much to do.” D. A. Carson and John Woodbridge respond with eight pieces of advice.
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.
Why the Church Needs Teens and Teens Need the Church
Because they are a part of the body of Christ, teens should be included in the active community of the church.
When You Let Ministry Become Your Identity
Whether you realize it or not, you are in an unending conversation with yourself, and the things you say to you about you are formative of the way that you live.
Given that liturgy concerns the order of worship elements in a church service, it’s not whether a church has a liturgy; it’s just which liturgy the church has.
2 Dangers In Doing the Lord’s Work
Doing the Lord’s work in our own way is betrayal. It is a stab in the Lord’s back.
Of course, every Christian faces difficulty—Jesus called us to a life of carrying our crosses as we follow him. However, the challenges of those in pastoral ministry are often more acute.
An Open Letter to the Pastor Doubting His Calling
A pastor may hear the still, small, devilish voice of inner doubt: Maybe I’m not really called to pastoral ministry.
You Need a Qualified Pastor—Not Just a Charismatic One
Charisma is helpful, important even, for pastors. But I want to focus on other attributes that are even more important for the pastor: character, capability, conviction, and compassion.
The Intersection of the Natural and the Supernatural in Preaching
How do the supernatural and the natural intersect in the act of preaching?
3 Goals of Pastoral Counseling
We need to rely on the gospel like this throughout our lives. Remember, Christ is both the means and the goal of counseling.
An Open Letter to Pastors Whose Sermons Always Sound the Same
If familiar themes are constantly preached, the pastor may be addressing issues most relevant to his people or he could be unwittingly serving perceived priorities of his people rather than the priorities of Scripture.
3 Misconceptions about Christian Growth
For the Christian to grow in a healthy way, we must clarify what growth is and is not.
Where Did Youth Ministry Go Wrong? Identifying a Way Forward
It's concerning that our ideals about how to do family discipleship have sometimes distracted us from our more primary responsibility to teach kids the gospel. Here are a couple of the ways we get distracted.
5 Myths about Pastoral Leadership
We can, with true humility and firm confidence, call our people to repent when they are sinning, assure them of God’s care when they are hurting, promise them eternal riches when they are dying—all on the authority of God’s most precious word.
Why Pastors Have a Unique Responsibility to Counsel
You must counsel. It’s not optional. You can’t say no as if it were simply a career choice, a matter of personal preference, or an absence of gifting.
Pastor, Don’t Quit—Learn to Lament
In order to stem the tide of weariness and burn-out, pastors should learn how to lament.