Pastoral Ministry

Steve Lawson has been removed from ministry at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas due to an inappropriate relationship with a woman who is not his wife. Other places he is affiliated with have acted swiftly to remove him from his duties (e.g., Ligonier, The Masters Seminary, OnePassion Ministries)...

For fifty years, Leonard Bernstein conducted the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. He is regarded as one of the most important musicians in American history. A reporter once asked him, “What is the most difficult instrument to play?” Bernstein reflexively replied, “Second fiddle! I can...

The qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 mention that for a man to be a minister he must be a one-woman man, be sober-minded, and be self-controlled. In my experience, these and other qualifications are commonly noted in letters of reference for potential pastors. And this makes...

Strategically, Satan can do a great deal of harm to the church when he can play a role in the fall of a pastor. Pastors therefore should understand they are the special objects of attack (Zech. 13:7). But they should also remember the powerful presence of indwelling sin will mean they are never...

It has been little over a year since I began to serve my first congregation in Grove City, PA. However, I feel as though it was only yesterday that I had led my first public worship service, preached my first sermon, administered my first Lord’s Supper, and enjoyed my first fellowship meal with my...

One of the most disinteresting comments that can come from a pastor’s mouth when asked how he’s doing is, “I’m so busy.” It is not only disinteresting, but if he has a habit of saying that each time he’s asked about his ministry, he may be, either implicitly or explicitly, suggesting that God is a...

It seems like everywhere you turn there are discussions being had about bad pastors. Indeed, multiplied books, podcasts, articles, and documentaries airing on such streaming services as Netflix and Hulu seem to pop up every week or so. And, of course, there are bad pastors, and they should be...

Church plants and revitalization is a unique and difficult ministry. Unlike many ministers who serve in an established ministry context, church planters and revitalizers often encounter situations and problems that is distinctive to their contexts. Problems such as facing financial difficulty with...

Are you a cheap pastor on social media? There is a phenomenon on social media where someone will offer a command, framed as helpful advice, to an audience who are not likely to be people with whom they have any meaningful relationship. But the nature of their advice is such that a meaningful...

Evangelical feminists – often now coloring themselves as “egalitarians” – deal with the passages of the Bible that directly address women in church leadership as if God were an incompetent communicator. That is, they take passages that they admit appear to prohibit women from certain roles and...