Tag: Pastor

By micoots
06/02/2017 0

Introducing ‘Echoes of the Reformation’

This year, 2017, marks 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther’s theses called for the reform of the church and served as the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. Its impact is still felt today.
Echoes of the Reformation: Five Truths That Shape the Christian Life is a new Bible study examining the five core truths that came from the Reformation—often called the solas. Group members will explore these essential co..

By micoots
06/02/2017 0

Let an Actual Shepherd Teach You to Pastor

When I was a boy in the 1960s and ’70s I sometimes rode to church with my paternal grandparents. My grandfather, born in 1901, was a stockman trained by his maternal grandfather. He raised cattle, pigs, and sheep in Southwest Missouri. Even then, small farms and diversification were becoming rare. My grandfather was among the last of the local shepherds. By the time he had to quit, the closest sheep market was four hours away.

Once when we were on the way home after a sermon on Jesus as shephe..

By micoots
06/02/2017 0

Preacher’s Toolkit: How Should I Respond When I Deliver a Dud?

Editors’ note: “Preacher’s Toolkit” is a monthly series that seeks to answer questions related to preaching. If you have a preaching-related question or issue you’d like for us to answer, please write us at [email protected]. We recently launched an Expository Preaching Project, for which TGC Council pastors will prepare free instructional resources on expository preaching in both video and print formats in six strategic languages. We’re prayerfully seeking to raise $150,000 to fund the..

By micoots
06/02/2017 0

10 Principles for Planting a Multiplying, Purpose Driven Church

When Kay and I arrived in Orange County, it wasn’t our mission to plant a mega church. We wanted to plant a mission church.

That is, we wanted to plant a church that would plant other churches.

We wanted to plant at least one daughter church per year, and we’ve gone beyond that.
We wanted to send out at least 200 career missionaries, and we’ve sent out hundreds more than that.
We wanted to send thousands to the mission field, and we’ve sent tens of thousands.
I’ve been saying for thirty years ..

By micoots
06/02/2017 0

What Does Paul Mean By Writing He Is Not Ashamed Of The Gospel?

Why does Paul say that he was not ashamed of the gospel? Does that mean some are and will be?
Ashamed of the Gospel?There are sins of commission but there are also sins of omission, like if we see a brother or sister in need and do nothing, for us, that is sin (James 2:16). For example, “if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him” (1st John 3:17)? Good question, isn’t it? Of course, all sin is forgivable for th..

By micoots
06/02/2017 0

Of Empires, 180s, And The Communion Of The Saints

All things considered, of the three, the third explanation seemed most likely. I had a seminary professor who used to warn us all about the danger of empire building. He was exactly right. As I sat in his office, he would recount stories of this fellow and that who had trampled on old friends as they sought to build a (religious) empire (his word) of some sort. He noted how pastors do it. He warned about the problems inherent to the church growth movement, which was in full swing, and the Reform..

By micoots
06/02/2017 0

The Apology to the LGBT Community That Needs an Apology

I’m deeply sorry for any Christian who proclaims another Gospel—not that there is another Gospel—that leaves us in our sin. This is not love. This is not compassion. Yes, God loves us just as we are. But He doesn’t want to leave us where we are. God wants us—all of us—to turn from our sin. The biblical writers call this repentance. God is patient toward us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Pet. 3:9).

Last week I was sent a video titled Confessions of a..

By micoots
06/02/2017 0

Pastor, Are You Okay?

Through the year, names get checked off as families and individuals are visited in homes and cafes. Burdens and cares are shared; plans are made for private reformation and encouragement. Without scientific specificity, I have come to the conclusion that most congregations are like my own. The closer you get to the end of the year, elder visits increase. If there is time, ruling elders’ families will be visited before the end of the year, or at least before the congregational meeting. And if one..

By micoots
05/02/2017 0

My Crisis on a Cliff

The city is situated between two juts of rock, helpfully called East Rock and West Rock. On the flat plane beneath these two small hills, the houses and roads span out to the coast, and from the top of either rock you can see the city spread before you, reaching out to the sea. When you’re in the city, you would hardly know it’s on the edge of the coastline, but when you’re up high and look out, you’re reminded that the city is coastal indeed. East Rock is more populated, easier to access, and t..

By micoots
05/02/2017 0

One Church’s Story of Resettling a Syrian Refugee Family

In December 2015, a group from Grace Toronto Church gathered together to help global refugees. Like the rest of the world, they had been horrified by the image of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, who had washed up on Turkish shores as his family tried reaching Canada. The small group researched the process of sponsoring a Syrian refugee family in Canada. On June 7, 2016, after months of waiting (and raising the legally required $30,000 for settlement), they received an email that a Syrian mother and fath..