Blog Articles and Resources for Pastors and Church Leaders
Blog Articles and Resources for Pastors and Church Leaders
A Christ-Shaped Vacuum (Or, Why Preaching Should Create a Crisis)
Faithful biblical teaching should, and will, produce a response. And people’s response should, through the presence and work of the Holy Spirit, reflect the response that the biblical text itself was seeking to produce. We want people to think,...
Turning Grass-Munchers into Spiritual Champions — One Way to Fulfill the Great Commission
We’re not just wanting to keep Christians happy and growing. We aren’t attempting to lure believers from other churches by having glitzier services and better programs. We’re starting with hard-core skeptics and trying to transform them into...
God Then Gold – Michael Phelps’ New Purpose In Life
Editor’s Note: Just before the start of the 2016 Summer Olympics, ESPN shared a magazine article and video about Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps that chronicled his downward spiral following the Beijing Olympics and his subsequent recovery. A...
7 Pointers for Teaching, Preaching, and Understanding the Old Testament
It’s about God. It is easy for us to focus our attention on the human characters of the Bible or on our own needs. Instead of looking to the Bible to give us tips for living or decision-making, our first line of interpretation should be to seek to...
Assessment: Jesus & You (How are You Different or the Same?)
Take this quiz at the beginning of a Bible study and again at the study’s end. The goal: assess change in your image of Jesus and yourself. Work quickly. There are no “correct” answers. Part 1: What Do You Think of Jesus? Please answer each...
These 6 Short Prayers Will Kickstart Your Way to Recovery
Believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover. Prayer: Dear God, I’ve tried hard to fix and control my life’s hurts, hang-ups, and habits. I admit that, by myself, I’m powerless to change. I need to...
How to Face Your Personal Goliath
Every one of us at one point or another will have to stand and face our Goliath. The moment you decide to step out of the crowd and follow Christ not only as a disciple but to publicly declare the message of the cross, you enter a battle zone....
Reality Check: Is this “Gospel Culture” or Just “Salvation Culture” ?
Evangelicalism is known for at least two words: gospel and (personal) salvation . Behind the word gospel is the Greek word euangelion and evangel , from which words we get evangelicalism and evangelism. Behind the second word salvation is the Greek...
How to Make the Most of Your Christian Tradition
You cannot read the New Testament apart from some tradition. Even the most jiving and thriving of Pentecostal churches has a normal way of doing Sunday morning worship that does not jump directly from the pages of the New Testament. This normal way...
Enemies: An Unexpected Source of Character Growth
I became something else, something other than what I naturally would have become, by becoming an evangelical pastor. Do not underestimate the difficulty of the task. While I generally agree with evangelical theology, I am at odds with the...
How Mini-Decisions Drive Evangelism
Many people process from unbelief to faith through “mini-decisions.” We hold to the classic teaching about the nature of the gospel: to be a Christian is to be united with Christ by faith so that the merits of his saving work become ours and his...
Becoming A "Watch-Worthy" Christ Follower
“Watch me, dad. Watch me.” There are few imperatives a father hears more often from his children than “watch me.” It’s a plea for us to recognize that whatever our son or daughter is doing — catching a ball, jumping off a diving board — is worthy...
An Easy Way to Tell If You Have a Servant Heart
How to Tell If You Have A Servant’s Heart There are two verses I cite to myself every day: Romans 12:4 (“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment”) and 2 Corinthians 4:5 (“For what we...
4 Inevitable Pain Points in Children’s Ministry … And How to Overcome Them
Pain Point 1: Fatigued Leaders 4 Inevitable Pain Points in Children’s Ministry – And How to Overcome Them The temptation is to start with questions that set a bare minimum: How few leaders can we have and still keep the doors open? Is there a way...
2 Crucial Ways to Protect the Gospel
Perhaps our most important stewardship of all is the stewardship of the gospel. As Jesus Left this earth, he gave his disciples and his church this instruction: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the...
On Contextualizing the Gospel: A Lesson from the World of Demolition
To illustrate what is needed for effective gospel contextualization, let’s turn to the world of demolition. Say you are building a highway and want to remove a giant boulder. First, you drill a small shaft down into the center of the rock. Then you...
Free Resources
Using How (not) to Save the World with your church or small group?
Here are some tools to help:
The Small Group Tool Kit includes two mobile-friendly invitation cards, reflection cards to enhance your small group experience, and a worship song playlist curated by Hosanna Wong that can beplayed during small group meetings or personal Bible study time.
The Church Tool Kit includes a downloadable poster, bulletininsert, invitation card, and Power Point slide.
Is your church talking about anxiety, depression and mental health issues? You should be.
Shawn Johnson, lead pastor of Red Rocks Church, gives a
searingly honest portrait of anxiety and depression and shows readers how to fight back and live free. He also has put together three free tools pastors can use to help their congregation have a productive conversation around mental health, including a discussion guide, sermon notes and key Scripture verses.