Questions abound as to why churches across America are in decline. Many have suggested that the church is not relevant enough to today’s society. As a result we do see young people leaving the traditional church and flocking to the emerging church movement. We have mistakenly attributed this to things such worship styles, attire, and…
The ongoing debate in many churches is the position and function of the church deacon. We serve a God who is a God of order. This is seen in the amazing artistic and orderly design of creation to the institutions of the home, human government, and the church. Throughout the Bible we see a principle…
Across America there are pockets where the churches are a plenty and the Gospel is clearly preached and understood. However, there are also pockets where the churches are few and the people are starved for truth. Knox county Maine (where I pastor) is one of those pockets where the churches are few and the people are…
In previous posts I dealt with the subject of the pastor as a shepherd and the pastor as a teacher. Now, we turn our attention to the oversight ministry of the pastor. The pastor is the bishop or ‘overseer’ of the church. He is not the head of the church, for Christ is the head.…
In a previous post we looked at the pastor as a shepherd. Part of shepherding is teaching the sheep. The scripture very plainly shows us that God gives us pastors in order to equip us for the work of the ministry. There are a lot of things that a pastor does, however, the one thing…
There are many aspects to pastoral ministry. All aspects are of equal importance. Put together and working in harmony with one another, each aspect creates a complete pastoral ministry. I’d like to take some time to examine each of the following aspects of pastoral ministry: shepherding, teaching, oversight, and evangelizing. The first aspect to consider…
There are many thoughts and ideas concerning what makes a healthy church. It is important that the church seeks sustained health rather than extreme growth spurts. Let me explain. Considering numbers is important. The main reason to consider numbers is that every number represents a soul. Therefore, it is important to work to increase the…
Recently I spent some time listening to a message from John MacArthur that he preached back in 1983. The message was a part of a series that he preached on the anatomy of the church. In that first message, he mentioned 5 things that the church must be committed to. I agree wholeheartedly with MacArthur’s…
Over the years I have been a part of planning and organizing hundreds of ministry events, programs, etc. When I am considering implementing a certain event or program I try to prayerfully follow a certain criteria in order to determine whether or not it is something that we should do. The following is the list…
In ministry and church circles there is often much discussion concerning the role and purpose of the office of pastor. The job description of a pastor can certainly be exhaustive. However, what should be the main concern of the pastor? What should he focus on? I’d like to suggest that there are four basic priorities…
