I was not prepared for the toll that truly following Jesus would take. And I am not alone. Just read this post I wrote about the difficulty of being a pastor. It struck a nerve! Hundreds of pastors wrote to me saying, “Me too!” If you truly follow Jesus, you will suffer. Whether in a…
Your attitude changes how you see the world. When you look at something, do you first see the positive or the negative? Are you a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty kind of person? Maybe you need to change your perspective. A boy, playing baseball alone, was heard to say, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world.” He…
The work of ministry is never done. There is always more you could do. More people you could meet with. More sermons to write. More emails to answer. More outreach opportunities. More. More. More. Productivity matters for pastors. You will never be able to do everything, but the Bible encourages us to be wise and…
How do you preach without notes? I wrote earlier about some of the benefits to preaching without notes. But, as some readers mentioned, the question remains: How does a person actually go about doing this? What are the steps, tips, and tricks to preach without notes? Here are the three things you absolutely must do to…
The Bible tells us to pray for healing. We may not always experience a miraculous healing, but we never know when God will answer in a powerful way. There are countless stories of answered prayers that doctors cannot explain. Here is one example: Shortly after we started praying for people in public in our services,…
Growing up, I never wanted to be a pastor because public speaking was one of my biggest fears. If I were to have ranked my worst fears in order, it would have been: Girls Public speaking Death Speaking to girls My first sermon was terrible. I hid behind the biggest podium I could find, clutching…
It is easy to compare your sin with the sin of another. Well, at least I am not as bad as him. She is far worse than I am. We feel somehow justified because overall we are pretty good. But we must understand that all sin, no matter how small, results in the same consequence….
Compliments are powerful. A few words of encouragement can go a long way in building others up. Likewise, negative words tear people down. This is especially true in marriage. Several years ago, I was sitting in my office with my door open. A lady walking down the hall said, “Have you got a minute?” “Sure,…
No products in the cart.