Pastoral Picks
Sep 7, 2010 • By David Murray • 0 CommentsPuritan Preaching
Innovative and insightful analysis of Puritan Preaching by Joseph Steele.
Most of you have probably seen this but its huge pastoral usefulness was brought home to me again recently. Rachel passed into glory a few months after this recording. Word Studies
I probably shouldn’t do this…but here is how to do Word Studies without knowing Hebrew and Greek (three steps along the top bar). And for the more gifted at biblical languages, here’s a more detailed article on word studies. I found the summaries at the end of each section extremely helpful. The Church’s Mission
Martyn Lloyd-Jones quoted by Kevin DeYoung.
Collaborative Sermon Preparation
Well I usually agree with Brian Croft; I link to almost everything he posts. But this article confirms to me yet again that we should call no man Master. I don’t think Paul had collaborative sermon preparation in mind in his pastoral epistles.
Walk worthy
Sep 7, 2010 • By David Murray • 0 CommentsWith a few Sundays in the pew recently, I’ve been greatly enjoying and profiting from my pastor, Foppe Vandwezwaag’s preaching. Here is last night’s, Walk Worthy, on Ephesians 4:17-32.
Mind-map paradise
Sep 6, 2010 • By David Murray • 3 CommentsI’ve always been intrigued by mind-mapping. I’ve used mind-maps to learn and to teach. However, I had never been completely satisfied with any of the various software versions I tried. They were usually too complicated, too time-consuming, and too buggy. But, I think I’ve found Mind-map paradise with Popplet. I love the simple, clean design, and especially the ability to share. Here’s a Popplet I put together for the content of God’s Technology.
First thing you should do is click on the bottom right hand corner to make the map full screen (you’ll need Flash). You can zoom in and out using the control at the top of the map. Drag the image around by clicking and dragging. Click on the videos to play them.
Pastoral Picks
Sep 4, 2010 • By David Murray • 0 CommentsIs Busyness Spirituality?
Dave Craft challenges leaders who do too much and work too long.
(HT Tim Challies)
Ministerial Burnout
Two burnt-out pastors have approached me just in the past week. Michael Horton provokes some thought on this subject here and here.
Pastoral Succession
Colin Hansen recommends very conscious and deliberate steps to ensure successful transition from one pastor to another. I know where Colin is coming from and sympathize with the motives and aims, of course…but I’m not convinced.
Facebook Ministry
Tim Challies on how to (and how not to) use Facebook for ministry.
Timing Pastoral Visits
Brian Croft on when to vist and how long to stay.
Naming names
Sep 3, 2010 • By David Murray • 1 CommentCarl Trueman posted a great article last week on the importance of pastors knowing the names of everyone in their congregation. In many ways it seems amazing that such an article needed to be written. But it did. And the problem of pastors not knowing the names of their sheep is not just confined to large congregations. Even pastors with small congregations can struggle to put names to faces. Sometimes it’s a lack of interest and concern. Most times it’s the lack of any practical strategy to learn and remember names.
Philip Guo at Lifehacker comes to our rescue with eight tips on how to remember people’s names. Even if you only read and do the first tip, you will multiply your name-remembering (and pastoring) ability tenfold.
Need further motivation? Here’s Guo again:Accurately remembering names is one of the simplest yet most important components of interacting with people, no matter in what capacity. A person’s own name is the single most important word to him/her; it is intimately tied to his/her identity as an individual. How you deal with people’s names can have a profound effect on their impressions of you: Think about the times you’ve felt special when someone you admired addressed you by your name in a sincere tone; or think about the times when you’ve felt belittled when someone negligently called you by the wrong name, or worse, maliciously made fun of your name in front of you.
Read the rest here.
