Featured
Aug, 13, 2015 0
Q: What advice do you have for calling a new pastor to our local congregation?
A: Let me offer seven things to consider in this important transition:
1. Pray. Let 1 Thessalonians 5:17 underline everything you do: “Pray continually.” Create strategies to keep the congregation praying about the…
Aug, 13, 2015 0
When I was six years old, I felt called to the ministry. I’d stand on our back porch and “preach” to my cats.
However, I went to church with my mother who attended a denomination that does not allow women in leadership (lay or clergy). As a child, when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I…
Aug, 13, 2015 0
Throughout my life, I have often shared my Christian faith with others. Even as a child, I found ways to talk about Jesus.
These days, I admit to wrestling increasingly with this aspect of being a Christian. As an adult, I have regularly experienced humiliation and ridicule for sharing my faith.…
Aug, 13, 2015 0
As a local church youth pastor, one of my priorities is to facilitate the process of helping students move from owning their parents’ faith to owning it themselves. Most of my students enter our ministry having attended church for as long as they have lived. They know all the Sunday school answers…
Aug, 13, 2015 0
The last words Julia said to me as I left her little house were, “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to make this gift.” As I headed back to the airport, I began to think about how Julia had modeled generosity, not only in her gift, but in her life and attitude about giving.
Her long life…
Aug, 13, 2015 0
This summer, Carmen Ringhiser, managing editor of Holiness Today, and I enjoyed the unique privilege of interacting with pastors and leaders from three Church of the Nazarene educational zones at Pastors and Leaders Conferences (PALCONs). We hosted a booth in the exhibit halls and spoke with…
Aug, 13, 2015 0
How do you know God’s will for your life?
A lot of times, teens get the idea that God is going to reveal His plan for your lives just like a Google search. Ask and you’ll get an answer. But it’s not that simple.
Teens have to realize that God may lead you into experiences that will eventually…
Aug, 13, 2015 0
Wherever you go, travel is a good way to understand the prevailing state of affairs. I have spent a great deal of time traveling and have noticed with apprehension that many times the means of transportation I frequent are in sad states of disarray. Airplanes are often delayed for much-needed “on-…
Aug, 13, 2015 0
HT: What are pastors talking about now?
JB: Context. Each community has its own distinct features and characteristics. The idea that a church can just be the same everywhere is not reality. No standard way exists of doing church anymore. Some of my colleagues are asking, “When do you reach the…
Aug, 13, 2015 0
HT: What’s the best thing about being a district superintendent?
DS: The opportunity to see young, gifted, called pastors find a place to serve. Also, to write “permission slips” to help them live out and see those callings fulfilled.
HT: Do you find yourself mentoring pastors?
DS: Yes, in…