Spiritual Growth
WHAT GOD CAN DO
A friend and mentor of mine is Pastor Jim Cymbala of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Though he has been in high demand for conferences and events around the world for decades, he routinely hosts small gatherings of 25-50 pastors and leaders at their location on Smith Street. On a couple of occasions he invited me and some of my pastor friends…
Read MoreGreat Leadership
My good friend planted a church 12 years ago that now has four locations and averages more than 5000 people weekly. They have baptized more than 300 people per year for the last several years. They write, produce and record worship albums that I love. And now they have launched an internship and college program…
Read MoreCARPE DIEM!
The other day a man expressed to me that I must have my hands full as a District Superintendent. He had heard a couple of pastoral burnout and failure statistics that left him incredulous. He asked me if the stats were indeed true (sadly, they were) and then asked me what I do to address these…
Read MoreLIFE WITH GOD
G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and therefore left untried.” (What’s Wrong with the World). Really living your life with God can be costly. It goes against cultural norms. Matthew 10:34-39 says that it can become a sword that separates people from their own family. It means…
Read More7 STEPS TO AVOID BURNOUT
What should a pastor do when feeling tired, burned out, under-appreciated or even under attack? 1. Don’t isolate yourself. Solitude is a spiritual discipline and is healthy. Isolation is not. Make friends with someone not associated with the church. Someone from another church, a friend from seminary days, or even someone in town who is…
Read MoreA SPIRITUAL STEROID
At the top of my favorites list is Charles Spurgeon. I discovered him while in undergrad at Liberty University and have read his sermons, lectures and devotionals more than I have any other. Time and again, God has used that man’s words to lift my heart to worship. He’s done it again and I want to share it…
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