
4 dangers pastors need protection from
Pastors don’t need to serve in fear. However, we do need to be protected from all of the dangerous threats to our lives, families and ministries.

Pastors don’t need to serve in fear. However, we do need to be protected from all of the dangerous threats to our lives, families and ministries.

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As a young pastor in my first church, I was keenly aware my congregation had a lot of problems. It had suffered years of numerical decline, in no small part as a result of immorality among the pastoral staff and embezzlement by a church treasurer. People were disillusioned, cynical and defensive.

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We almost can’t help ourselves. When we gather with a group of friends or people who share something in common, we often start talking in a way that excludes others.

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Vision is not measured by statements on a wall. Vision is revealed by how a church operates, evaluates ministry, and envisions the future.
There’s an epidemic in our churches, and it seems to be true across evangelical, charismatic, mainline Protestant, and Catholic churches. Like most epidemics, it’s invisible but widespread. It’s an epidemic of insecurity. We believers are remarkably insecure. Before you take that as an insult, let me explain. It might just be the key to discovering a freshness, depth, and secure love you’ve never known before.
In this short article series, I hope to help cultivate—or, perhaps, restore—your hope for biblical community and your heart for local church small groups ministry. (In these articles, I’m using the phrases “small groups” and “community groups” interchangeably.)
There are two essential marks of a great story: A great story draws you in—into the character and the plot. And a great story sends you out—you immediately want to retell it.