January 28, 2012

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How Each Chapter of the Book of Ruth Points to Jesus

How do you appropriately and accurately preach Jesus from the Old Testament? Every pastor faces this challenge, if he wants to preach the whole counsel of God to his congregation. Many fall prey to… [more]

How Each Chapter of the Book of Ruth Points to Jesus How Each Chapter of the Book of Ruth Points to Jesus

7 Ways to Become an Entrepreneurial Pastor

More and more these days, we are hearing that successful pastors, especially church planters, need to be entrepreneurial. But what does that mean exactly? What does it not mean? In my previous post… [more]

7 Ways to Become an Entrepreneurial Pastor 7 Ways to Become an Entrepreneurial Pastor

What It Means to Be an Entrepreneurial Pastor

Entrepreneurship is one of the new, hot characteristics pastors are claiming for themselves. But many operate, I am afraid, on the wrong definition of an entrepreneur. Because they focus more on personality… [more]

What It Means to Be an Entrepreneurial Pastor What It Means to Be an Entrepreneurial Pastor

How to Preach Like John Piper Without Sounding Like Him

What’s the difference between someone who wants to be a great preacher and someone who wants to preach great? I’m sure there’s lots, but one thing that comes to mind is hubris. The desire to be… [more]

How to Preach Like John Piper Without Sounding Like Him How to Preach Like John Piper Without Sounding Like Him

How Each Chapter of the Book of Ruth Points to Jesus

January 27, 2012 By

How do you appropriately and accurately preach Jesus from the Old Testament? Every pastor faces this challenge, if he wants to preach the whole counsel of God to his congregation. Many fall prey to the fallacy of pointing to Jesus in the Old Testament. They see something that reminds them of the gospel or the [...]

7 Ways to Become an Entrepreneurial Pastor

January 18, 2012 By

More and more these days, we are hearing that successful pastors, especially church planters, need to be entrepreneurial. But what does that mean exactly? What does it not mean? In my previous post on this topic, I pointed to renowned business and management author, Peter Drucker, for a definition of entrepreneurship. He says an entrepreneur [...]

What It Means to Be an Entrepreneurial Pastor

January 13, 2012 By

Entrepreneurship is one of the new, hot characteristics pastors are claiming for themselves. But many operate, I am afraid, on the wrong definition of an entrepreneur. Because they focus more on personality than skills, more and more pastors are slapping an “E” on their uniform, but can’t play ball. What entrepreneurship really is The entrepreneurial [...]

4 Steps to Get Back on Track with Organization and Productivity

January 10, 2012 By

Pastors are most likely to start a new year disorganized. The holidays are a busy time personally, and in the life of the church. Do you need to get back on track? The problem is that ministry doesn’t slow down. We need a simple process that will get us back into organizational shape without a [...]

How to Preach Like John Piper Without Sounding Like Him

January 6, 2012 By

What’s the difference between someone who wants to be a great preacher and someone who wants to preach great? I’m sure there’s lots, but one thing that comes to mind is hubris. The desire to be a great preacher is a desire for a reputation or popularity. On the other hand, the desire to preach well [...]

10 Ways to Improve Your Preaching in 2012

December 16, 2011 By

If you’re like me, you’re already thinking about how you want to improve your ministry in the coming year. Here is a quick list to get you thinking about steps to take toward feeding your flock better in 2012. I’ve given you the bullets below, but I suggest you head over to the Sydney Anglican [...]

A New Definition of Seeker Sensitive Ministry

December 9, 2011 By

My philosophy of ministry is strongly geared toward Seeker sensitivity. I hope that by the time you finish this article yours will be, too. But it’s not the seeker sensitivity you’re used to hearing about. In fact, it’s probably the exact opposite. In John 4:23, Jesus says this to the woman at the well, “But [...]

3 Interesting Versions of the 3-Point Sermon Outline

December 1, 2011 By

The cliché “three points and a poem” has a negative connotation for a reason. Three-point sermons sound the same after a while. If the letter you use to alliterate your points is the only thing that changes in your outline structure, you’re going to lose your captive audience. But there are benefits to three-point sermons, [...]

5 Ways to Make Solid Contact with Your Congregation’s Heart with Your Sermons

November 22, 2011 By

Remember in little league when you swung as hard as you could at a pitch, but totally whiffed. When you finally stopped spinning, your coach yelled, in all his patronizing positive reinforcement, “Good cut!” “Good cut” means you tried as hard as you could, but you still missed. In preaching, the “good cut” is the [...]

When Interruptions Help You Become a More Complete Pastor

November 18, 2011 By

A common frustration in ministry is when demands on our time and energy surprise us. The result is that we can’t focus on what we planned to work on because what came in unplanned is urgent. What I’ve discovered about these surprises is that these interruptions are often not interruptions in the truest sense. A [...]

Be Quick to Reread, Slow to Outline, and Slow to Read Commentaries

November 16, 2011 By

Busy pastors must always fight the tendency to crank out sermons. The signs that you are preparing a sermon in crank out mode are manifold. You read your passage through once or twice. As you read, you look immediately for application. You divide the text up into its parts, not to break down the author’s [...]

5 Ways to Imitate John Stott: Tim Keller’s Message at Stott’s Memorial Service

November 14, 2011 By

It is always inspiring to hear stories of a life lived well for God’s glory and kingdom. I had the privilege to attend John Stott’s memorial service last week. His was very much one of those lives. Tim Keller gave the sermon for the service from Hebrews 13:7, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to [...]

Build an Illustration File That’s Easy to Use with Evernote

November 9, 2011 By

Has the time and effort of building and using an illustration file caused you to stop using yours? Is that the reason you haven’t bothered to put an illustration file together in the first place? Yet the merits of having illustrations filed away can’t be overstated. Having them on hand is much easier than thinking [...]

The Getting Things Done Productivity Method in a Nutshell

November 8, 2011 By

The complexity of the Getting Things Done method of productivity scares a lot of people away. It’s not a perfect method, and it does take time to learn. But if you stick with it, there is a simplicity on the other side of the complexity that will help you, well, get things done. David Allen summarizes [...]

How to Call for a Gospel Response Like a Calvinist

November 5, 2011 By

In case you haven’t been over to The Gospel Coalition Blog in a while, get on over and check out my article, “How to Call for a Gospel Response Like a Calvinist.” I hope that you find it helpful. Share

A Quick Way to Accurately Preach Jesus From the OT

November 4, 2011 By

It is difficult to accurately preach Jesus from the Old Testament. One danger is to over-spiritualize the OT with the result that you allegorize the passage. But another danger lurks for those who conscientiously avoid allegorizing. That mistake is to always move toward the gospel in the exact same way. In order to avoid both [...]

An Isaianic Spin on the “I Am” Statements in the Gospel of John

November 3, 2011 By

I have been thoroughly enjoying Schreiner’s New Testament Theology. At 864 pages, it’s a redwood that will fall only with consistent swings of the ax over a long period of time. Especially for a slow reader like me. In his chapter “Son of God, I Am, and Logos,” he connects  Jesus’ “I am” statements to [...]

How Divine Power Works Differently than Superhuman Power

November 2, 2011 By

Last week I had on of those distracted and unmotivated days in the office. I was grinding it out. My eyes kept drifting from my books. I couldn’t concentrate on my sermon prep. I broke my “check email three times a day” rule, like, twelve times. And it was only 10 a.m. For motivation, I [...]

3 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting the Important Stuff Done: A Diagnostic

November 1, 2011 By

Have you been struggling to devote your energy to what has the biggest payoff in ministry? Has time in the Word, in prayer, and with people been shuffled to the corner for more urgent tasks? Maybe you’re busy all day, but nothing important seems to get done. From my own experience, when I don’t accomplish [...]

Why Jesus Called Himself “Son of Man” Instead of “Messiah”

October 31, 2011 By

Thomas Schreiner explains: “Why did Jesus use the title ‘Son of Man’ so often and in comparison, relatively speaking, the title ‘Messiah’ so little? We have seen that the title ‘Messiah’ was apt to be understood in militaristic and political terms, contrary to Jesus’ mission. The term ‘Son of Man,’ on the other hand, was [...]

How to Help Your Youth Pastor Become a Mature Pastor

October 25, 2011 By

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLGLBVSpBzY”

Caricatures of youth pastors are comical, even if they are unfair. Ignatius tops the list, but I bet you could imagine your own. The funny thing is, from rock stars to game experts, there are few youth pastor stereotypes that include pastoral responsibilities. “I think youth ministry perpetuates my immaturity,” one youth pastor friend told [...]

3 Ways Good Churches Slip Into Man-Centered Worship

October 18, 2011 By

Man-centered worship happens in the best of churches. It happens in yours and mine, even though we don’t intend it. It’s a manifestation of the sin that so easily entangles us. True worship is a response to what God has done for us in Christ, by his Spirit. It is a demonstration of thanksgiving to [...]

Are You Getting Enough Rest?

October 7, 2011 By

Hacking our non-omnipotence is one of the most important things for us pastors to learn. We have a job that includes too much for us to do. The goal of our job – the salvation and sanctification of people – is something that we cannot attain, in and of ourselves. And our work never, ever, [...]

3 Quick Changes That Can Add 30 Minutes to Your Day

October 4, 2011 By

How much more could you accomplish with an extra thirty minutes a day? Would you tackle those conference-discounted theological tomes that still enjoy crisp binding and clean margins? Would you follow up with the names on your lists to call or visit? Would you brainstorm new ministry opportunities? The only way to get more time [...]

5 Ways to Reinvigorate Your Church By Thinking More Like a Church Plant

October 3, 2011 By

Brandon Levering has a great article at The Gospel Coalition entitled, “5 Ways Established Churches Should Think Like Plants.” If you’re looking for ways to reinvigorate the gospel impact of the church, you would do well to shift into the five church plant mentalities Brandon lists: 1. Church plants clearly define their mission and keep it [...]

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