We are only a day away from Thanksgiving 2024. Many of us will gather with families and friends, and we’ll express our thanks to God for relationships, love, food, salvation, etc. When you pray in your own quiet time, though, think about praying these surprising prayers, too: Take some time even now to pray one […]
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“A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” That comment by Ruth Bell Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, is a reminder that people can disagree, and that conflict is inevitable in most human relationships.
Our first foster placement arrived 14 years ago. I was a young mother, passionate about living for Jesus and walking in obedience. When I felt Jesus nudge my heart toward foster care and adoption, I fully trusted He would provide all I needed. But after we picked our foster son up from the pediatric intensive care unit, it didn’t take long for me to feel completely overwhelmed.
Photo by Jeremy McKnight on Unsplash
Over the last several years during the Advent and Christmas seasons, I have noticed that churches seem to be singing traditional Christmas carols less and less. I’m not sure what all the reasons may be, and I’m certainly not attempting to impugn the motives of those who choose the songs. But I do believe it’s unfortunate for us if we hear familiar carols more in the shopping mall than we do in the local church.
“A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” That comment by Ruth Bell Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, is a reminder that people can disagree, and that conflict is inevitable in most human relationships.
Many of us in ministry leadership are grieved by recent revelations of high-profile pastors who were discovered to have been unfaithful in their marriage. These discoveries continue to shock us and serve as a reminder that we are all in a battle against the flesh and the devil.
I remember one Sunday leaving a church service and asking a close friend for feedback on my preaching. The friend said, “Maybe you’re called to teach instead of preach.”
What drives you to your knees in prayer? A pastor friend said, as I was listening to him describe a remarkably difficult time in his pastorate, that this event was certainly causing him to pray, and in his words, “anything that makes you pray is a good thing.”
There is an oceanic experience known as the doldrums, which refers to certain regions of the ocean marked by the absence of strong winds. Pastors and ministry leaders also experience what feels like ministry doldrums a season when the wind is not filling your sails and things feel flat.
I had dinner recently with a couple who were saved and baptized in the last church I pastored. This couple has walked with Jesus for several years now and raised children who are following Christ. They are faithful in their local church and have intentionally ordered their lives as ambassadors for Jesus.
Years ago, I determined to learn more about evangelistic preaching to practice it more faithfully. While I would not classify myself as skilled in this area, I have learned some things that have proven helpful.
I was on campus at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary recently when someone asked how I was doing. I looked at the books I had just purchased at the bookstore and remarked I just purchased three copies of a book entitled, “I Have PTSD” — one for me and two for friends — if that tells you anything.
I remember hearing someone describe Adrian Rogers, former pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, as a “weeper.” Dr. Rogers was known for shedding tears over the lost condition and pending judgment of those who, because of their own sin and rebellion, were alienated from God. He went on to say that when it comes to evangelism “weepers are reapers.”
At a funeral several years ago, I heard a pastor describe himself as a workaholic. But he quickly followed it up by saying that there are worse things one could be.
