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.
Articles on Church Leadership
318 results found
The Most Important Part of Youth Ministry
What attracts people to ministry to youth? Why are they in this field?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The same grace that saves sinners from the penalty of their sin also instructs them in holiness.
The Intersection of the Natural and the Supernatural in Preaching
How do the supernatural and the natural intersect in the act of preaching?
3 Ways That Scriptural Leadership Differs from Secular Leadership
Preaching is inherently a form of leadership. But in order for our preaching to qualify as scriptural leadership, we must be careful to exercise it according to biblical standards rather than worldly principles.
A Word to the Youth Pastor Who Feels Discouraged
To a youth pastor who is feeling discouraged, your reward is in heaven where you’ll see in glory the things that Jesus has done through your ministry, you’ll see the fruit of your labor.
Should I Choose a Church for Its Pastor?
The centrality of the Word coming from the front, from the preacher, the one specially gifted by God and called to that ministry, is the most important thing you can look for in a church.
3 Misconceptions about Christian Growth
For the Christian to grow in a healthy way, we must clarify what growth is and is not.
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.
Douglas Sean O'Donnell, Leland Ryken
Parables feature what the whole of the New Testament covers: gospel need, gospel proclamation, gospel response, and gospel ethics. In your preaching, follow Jesus’s pattern.
10 Helpful Books for Church Leaders
Crossway suggests 10 books would be valuable for every church leader to read and have in their library.
Podcast: What If I Don’t Feel Like Going to Church? (Gunner Gundersen)
What do we do when we just don't feel like gathering with God's people in corporate worship, and how has the pandemic affected us in this area?
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.
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.
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.
Pastor, Don’t Quit—Learn to Lament
In order to stem the tide of weariness and burn-out, pastors should learn how to lament.
How to Be an Effective Bible Study Leader
Nancy Guthrie lists several issues that have a significant impact on using the time allotted for small-group discussion effectively.
4 Things Jesus Taught about Children’s Ministry
Jesus told his glory-seeking disciples to become like children, to welcome kids, to protect them, and to value them as a kingdom priority.
5 Myths about Counseling and the Church
We come to Jesus as people in need, and we continue in Jesus as people in need.
5 Questions about Church Discipline
What is church discipline? Is it biblical? Jonathan Leeman answers five questions about church discipline.
A Guide for Your Personal Worship Today
One day of structured content from the 31-day liturgical guide Be Thou My Vision to help you in your daily worship.
An Open Letter to Pastors about the Teens in Their Congregation
The relationships, the preaching, the teaching, and the admonition of a specific church body are as vital to teenagers as they are to every other believer.
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.
Why You Should Read This Obscure Old Book about Pastoral Ministry
Every pastor faces that tension of cultivating a rich inner-life, focusing on the spiritual aspect of calling, without neglecting the mundane responsibilities of ministry.