Gospel and Marriage
In his letter to the Ephesian church, the apostle Paul specifically addressed marriage. In Ephesus men typically viewed women as property, not as someone who should be loved and cherished. They often treated marriage as a business transaction for the sake of social appearances, thus they sought sexual gratification outside their marriage. While the cultural […]
Christ Was Cursed
No one longs to be cursed before God. We want His blessing, His favor. Yet unless we continually obey everything in the law and never falter at one point (James 2:10), we are guilty of violating all the law. And because of our sinfulness, we were cursed before God. But the scandalously good news is […]
Leadership or Micromanagement?
What some people call micromanagement is really leadership providing necessary accountability. And what some leaders call leadership is really micromanagement. For example–when meeting with staff teams, I have often heard conflicting statements from both leaders and those they lead. A leader will say, “I wish I had people I could trust with greater leadership,” while […]
Measure the Process
Preseason NFL games are boring to watch, even for serious fans. Seriously, Sportscenter on ESPN barely mentions preseason games. The anchors even poke fun at how little the games matter. The best players are not in the game at critical times. It is basically a practice with real referees. It just seems that no one really […]
Reminded, Not Instructed
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Sometimes we forget the fact that New Testament letters like Paul’s to the Romans were originally meant to be read, studied, and practiced in community. Commands like these from Romans 12, then—to rejoice, to be patient, to be persistent in prayer—are not just for […]
Four possibilities when hearing “the teaching is not deep enough”
When I speak at a large event, inevitably someone in a local church will pull me aside and tell me the teaching in their church is not “deep enough.” If you have been involved in church ministry, you have surely heard the phrase. For a pastor who longs to faithfully feed people the Word of […]
3 Challenges of Being a Pastor’s Wife
Ministry can be hard on families. The constant burden of loving and leading a local church is taxing, and the pressure a pastor feels inevitably impacts his wife. In recent years, my wife has frequently facilitated groups for pastor’s wives. As she has interacted with them, she has found the three most common challenges to […]
Serving Is Greatness
One of the reasons bondservants chose to stay with their master was because life was so much better in the master’s care. Perhaps sometimes bondservants would reflect on how life was before. They could remember how miserable the nights were hoping someone would let them stay in their home. They could recall how painful it […]
True Repentance
After Nathan, the prophet, confronted King David on his sin, David prayed an incredible prayer of repentance and begged God to create a new heart in him (Psalm 51). We are mistaken if we believe that David’s prayer is for us only if/when we commit the “big sins.” In David’s prayer, he does not mention […]
Why People Are Not Sharing Their Faith
For years, I have heard church leaders bemoan the reality that the majority of Christians never or rarely share their faith with unbelievers. Though declaring the good new of Jesus to others is the responsibility of every Christ-follower, few people in our churches embrace the holy assignment. Why? In his book Contagious, author and professor Jonathan […]