Blog Articles and Resources for Pastors and Church Leaders

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.

Recently I was standing in line at Heart Coffee. Portland, Oregon is home for me, and while our city’s most broadly read press clippings haven’t been particularly favorable these last ...

This is God’s message to us? “I’m offering rest. Partner with me, and you’ll find it.”

Jesus offers rest because the way of living that Jesus gives us is deeply restful.

We all live for something. This “yoke” talk is about taking the burden of whatever it is I’m living for, and trading it in. His yoke is lighter, He says.

I can confirm this. I sometimes feel the pressure to have a Big Vision and accomplish some Big Thing or be More Significant and you know what? It’s a lot of stress. Our culture loves Big Visions and Plans and Statements and so forth. But our culture is also acutely anxious and exhausted and angry.

So why take this pilgrimage?

Because, while “It is finished,” He is not. His work on the Cross was perfect. Complete. Absolute. And because of it and through it, He continues working in and through us. The Cross is the singular basis of Christ’s total defeat of satan and his kingdom. satan had no response then and has none now. There’s nothing he can do about it. his defeat was complete, everlasting, and irrevocable. And while satan can’t change what happened on that Friday, he has been working ever since to hide what happened there. To obscure the work of the Cross. To avert our eyes. This is why Paul told the Galatians they’d been “bewitched.” Even though they were Spirit-filled eyewitnesses to the death and resurrection of Jesus, and God was actively doing miracles in their church, they’d taken their eyes off the Cross. Some power of darkness obscured the work of the Cross and they were focused on something else.

In an era marked by polarization and societal divisions, Terry Crist’s Loving Samaritans emerges as a beacon of hope, challenging Christians to embody the radical kindness Jesus exemplified. Through a tapestry of personal anecdotes, biblical insights, and practical wisdom, Crist invites readers to reconsider the essence of their faith - love and compassion for all, especially those marginalized or perceived as different.

Step 1: Do you know what Bible translation you are looking for? If you know what Bible translation you are looking for—great! Feel free to skip this step and go ...