I remember a former pastor commenting once that no-one should attempt to write and publish a book before they were 40. He reckoned that there was a good chance that you would have to go back and explain why you’ve changed your mind Tim Keller of course only started writing for a wider audience into… Continue reading Let it percolate
Tag: ministry
Pastoring the grieving
I’m continuing a little series on the day to day work of a pastor and so today we want to think about what happens when a member of the church or one of their family dies. What should you be doing. We cannot be over prescriptive here because every family will have different needs and… Continue reading Pastoring the grieving
The hard work of the pastor
I think we can fall into one of three traps if we are involved in church pastoral ministry. At the one end of the spectrum are those who see pastors as basically chaplains, nice, homely sorts who are primarily employed to go round and visit the elderly church members and drink copious cups of tea.… Continue reading The hard work of the pastor
God did not make you a pastor to keep you going to church
I want to pause and think about a type of comment that I’ve heard a few times over the years. It goes something along the lines of. “Perhaps the reason that God made me a pastor was to keep me in church.” Such comments are perhaps tongue in cheek but personally I’m not convinced they… Continue reading God did not make you a pastor to keep you going to church
Ministry nuts and bolts: Who should be trustees on your church leadership
Most churches in the UK are set up as charitable trusts. There are a number of ways to do this but increasingly, the most common is as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. This then raises the question of who should serve as trustees for the church. There seem to be three main options that churches run… Continue reading Ministry nuts and bolts: Who should be trustees on your church leadership
Food from around the world wide web
You can’t hack your way to a faithful ministry : “An industry has grown to help us. Books, blogs, podcasts, and conferences offer us tips and hacks for ministry. But here’s what every pastor needs to know: you can’t hack your way to a faithful ministry. You can’t learn pastoral ministry from blogs (including this… Continue reading Food from around the world wide web
Discerning a calling – transition and grieving
The other week, I shared some articles looking at how we discern a calling into Gospel ministry. My particular concern is to encourage people to look into urban gospel mission. I’m keen to seek out people who would be willing to work with us to see churches planted and revitalised on estates and in inner… Continue reading Discerning a calling – transition and grieving
Why do we struggle to talk about pastors and depression?
A few years back I was asked to cover a couple of sessions for a ministry training course. One of the sessions was on “failure.” The request came with a couple of those expected awkward jokes along the lines of “we aren’t picking you for any specific reason.” Indeed, at the time, arguably I’d not… Continue reading Why do we struggle to talk about pastors and depression?
Our decisions about who serves where tell people what we value
This is a further follow up on my article about serving, believing and belonging. The decisions we make here tell us something about how we regard ministry and gifts. Thinking back, I’m more likely to have been pressurised to include someone who isn’t a member or not yet a Christian to either help with children’s… Continue reading Our decisions about who serves where tell people what we value
Leaky pipes are best replaced
This article by Nay Dawson is essential reading for complementarians who believe that women are called to serve in Christ’s church too. This is not a post pushing for us to change our minds on what Scripture says about elders and about teaching. It is simply arguing that women are given gifts to use for… Continue reading Leaky pipes are best replaced
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