What would you say to a church where two of its most promising young “Christians” had not only left the faith but had turned against it with mockery and hostility? That’s the very real scenario I was asked to address recently at a small gathering of pastors and elders. It is undoubtedly one of the…
Read More →Help for hurting churches in dealing with apostasy
Leaders who last
This review first appeared on The Gospel Coalition’s excellent new book review site, tgcreviews.com. Thanks to Mike Pohlman and John Starke for the great job they are doing there. Leaders Who Last. Crossway/RE:LIT, 2010. 155 pages. Not another book on leadership! Yes and no. Yes, it is another book on leadership; but no, not just…
Read More →A “normal” week of pastoral ministry
Thanks to Chris Roberts for his follow-up questions to my post on getting the right balance between preparing sermons and pastoral visitation. I think the best way I can answer is to describe a “normal” pastoral week for me. Obviously “normal” can quickly become abnormal if you have a death in your congregation. And what…
Read More →How to stop people idolizing you
What do you do if people start idolizing you or your preaching? “I wouldn’t mind some of that!” you retort. Well, okay, maybe it won’t happen to many of us on a large scale. And most of us have the opposite problem. But, if even one person starts to “follow” you or your sermons excessively…
Read More →How to erase your past
Many of us who were converted to Christ from a foolish and worldly lifestyle have much in our past we wish we could forget. We know and rejoice that God has “forgotten” our sins (Heb. 8:12). Yet we are still haunted by memories we wish we could erase. This painful problem has been worsened for…
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