Blog Articles and Resources for Pastors and Church Leaders

Every time I enter a lecture hall at my university, I commence the class with the same two words: “Greetings, theologians!” In the chairs sit art, film, communications, psychology, business, ...

We all want to matter, we want to be valued, we want to make a difference. We want to have a purpose in life. I know that's true of me, and I'm sure it's true of you as well. But where do we find this?

Put yourself in the path of beauty. Make it a habit. This world is filled with plenty of sorrow, and one of the most healing ways we can respond to ...

“I’ve been through a lot, Nona. But this . . . this is a different kind of hurt.” I was catching up with a pastor friend of mine when he ...

While some say that children’s pastors should shy away from "difficult" passages, there are convincing reasons for welcoming the whole story. First, it allows for the possibility of building a solid spiritual foundation. When leaders teach our children the entirety of scripture, it equips them with a foundational understanding of the nature of God. His love. His compassion. His wrath. His mercy. His grace. All of it allows them to see the Bible as a unified message, not a collection of disconnected stories.

If the whole counsel of God is presented within our children’s ministerial programs, children will learn how the Bible helps them to navigate complex issues like suffering, forgiveness, and temptation. Exploring these topics prayerfully and thoughtfully gives kids a chance to navigate life’s challenges with a biblical worldview.

I was reading through the first chapter of James: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” 

What?!

Pure joy?!

I was right in the middle of a trial, and I wouldn’t have immediately thought to consider it pure joy.

But as I thought about it, I realized something. James is not saying, “Look at the trial and feel happy.” No! He knows the visceral emotion partnered with trials is sorrow, not joy. But he says, “Consider it pure joy.” He’s referencing the intensity, not the exclusivity, of the joy. He is not saying, “Have only joy.” He’s saying, “Have the fullness of joy too.” Intensity, not exclusivity. This is important.

Though men are over sexualized in our culture, a man’s sexuality is often the most neglected part of his development. It’s the place we’ve had the least meaningful conversations in our lives. Few men got an adequate sex talk, maybe a simplistic anatomy lesson or a purity lecture, if they got anything at all. When nothing else is talked about, it often leads men to assume sexuality is meant to just work and run itself. And when that doesn’t work, men bury their sexual struggles in silence and shame. Or worse, act them out in a spiral of sin and self-hatred. It’s left men so underdeveloped and stuck.

If you're just diving into the world of Christian apologetics, you're in for an enlightening journey. Apologetics is all about explaining and defending the Christian faith, and having the right resources can make a world of difference. Below, we've compiled a list of the top 5 books that offer a fantastic starting point for beginners.

The American church is a very married place, with a very specific definition of “family.” My boys and I no longer fit the Christian family mold, which assumes two parents because that’s the way God designed families. Church leaders may design excellent programs and provide for material needs, but they may not know how uncomfortable it can be for the single parent and their child to sit in the pews surrounded by intact families. The very place God ordained to help widows and orphans can be a very hard place for the single parent and their child to be belong.

“Can I make it through November?” Maybe you’ve asked yourself that question recently. The last two elections were hard on your church, and you’re not sure you can white-knuckle your ...

When I have attended church on these days and been met with the inevitable “Happy Mother’s Day!” I’ve smiled and said, “Thank you” but felt the hurt inside. The well-intentioned greeter doesn’t realize the depth of pain just below the surface. At the height of our fertility treatments, a counselor suggested we skip attending church on these dates, which was good advice.

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:10–16 Do we ...

If there’s one thing pastors can be certain of these days it is that their congregations are being discipled by well-funded and aggressive cultural forces to follow their own hearts. ...

One of the many images that Scripture uses to describe those who confess a common faith in Jesus Christ is that of a family (Rom. 8:29; Gal. 6:10; 1 Peter 2:17). By God’s grace, we are adopted into the family of faith (Gal. 4:4-7; Eph. 1:5). But do we actually know this family? Do we know those who have walked before us as followers of Christ?

Here are Five reasons why pastors should introduce their congregations to theologians of the past:

We sat down with author John Inazu to discuss his new book Learning to Disagree and how he thinks pastors can use his book as a tool to help their congregations ...

Ministry is exhausting. This is true for the church planter who is just getting his core group together or the minister who’s had years of ministry experience. Exhaustion in ministry is real, and burnout seems to come for the best of us. But it doesn’t have to. It is quite possible to do all that God has called you to do, but it requires us to return to the humble way of Christ. Humility may be an unexpected suggestion, but it honestly shouldn’t be. Humility was the very thing that set the first-century church apart.