IS IT EVER OKAY TO LIVE IN THE PAST?
4 Reasons Why My Answer Is “Yes!” “Living in the past” isn’t normally associated with spiritual vitality. But there’s one sense in which repeated excursions into our past is integral to a more robust walk with Christ. Digest these reasons for looking over your...
5 Reasons to Read FAIL: Finding Hope and Grace in the Midst of Ministry Failure (by J.R. Briggs)
I’m gearing this post to pastors, associate staff members, pastoral students in Bible College or Seminary, members of church boards, and parachurch leaders. Wives of pastors will also benefit. If you don’t fit any of these categories, this book will instill within...
3 Things I’m Learning the Hard Way About Aging
Not everything we learn is fun or fascinating. Take lessons about growing older as an example. I didn’t register for the course on aging, but at 66, I daily take my front-row seat in the classroom. I don’t know if this will be on the test, but what follows are...
4 TRUTHS THAT CHALLENGE PREACHERS AND BIBLE STUDY LEADERS
What biblical perspectives keep me from settling for mediocrity as a communicator of God’s Word? Whereas my previous two posts focused on encouragement for teachers, this one examines texts or insights that have challenged or convicted me.1. God evaluates our...
4 MORE TRUTHS TO ENCOURAGE PREACHERS AND BIBLE STUDY LEADERS
When fatigue, criticism, spiritual warfare, feelings of inadequacy, or some form of failure threaten to sabotage our ministry of handling God’s Word, what Bible verses and truths can sustain us for the long haul?In my previous post, I cited six truths with...
6 TRUTHS TO ENCOURAGE PREACHERS AND TEACHERS
For 45 years, I’ve been teaching Bible in both formal and informal venues. Here are truths that have cultivated resiliency within me despite the inadequacy, warfare, and weariness that accompany a teaching ministry. You’ll profit more from this post if you read...
I AM DEPRESSED, BUT GOD IS GOOD
What follows is a journal entry from 2005. The first part sounds bleak. I was knee-deep in a depressive episode and couldn’t slog my way out. I’m posting it to show you how depression expresses itself in the minds or emotions of some Christian workers you may...
WHY DON’T CHRISTIAN LEADERS CRY ANY MORE?
When is the last time you saw a Christian leader weep? Have you ever heard a preacher or conference Bible teacher apologize because he or she shed tears while speaking? Do you associate public weeping with emotional instability, weakness, or embarrassment? When...
WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT…
It just doesn’t feel like Christmas this year. The joyful anticipation I once had prior to December 25 has evaporated as I get older. Maybe it’s because the kids are grown and I don’t get to observe their excitement any more.I tend to feel depressed the closer we...
The Benefits of “Waiting on God”
The delay in fulfilling his calling was unexpected and frustrating. After six years of intensive outreach in China, at age 29, Hudson Taylor returned to England, a furlough prompted by poor health. For five years he waited to return, all the while burdened by the...
Playing Back God’s Call: A Key to Resiliency
In the late 1700s, the British economy relied heavily on the slave trade from Africa. Most captives toiled on large plantations owned by Britishers in the West Indies. The annual export of slaves from Africa's western coast exceeded 100,000.A year after converting...
Frailty Doesn’t Disqualify Us
An incident in Jack Murray’s life showed that weakness is not a hindrance to usefulness in God’s kingdom. His son, George, told this story in chapel while he served as President of Columbia International University. Jack, a traveling evangelist decades ago, was...
