Posts Tagged ‘Ministry’
Small Church, Small Town Ministry … So Many Opportunities! So Many Blessings!
Last week, I wrote about the joys and challenges of small church, rural ministry. To be sure, these kinds of ministries come with a unique set of challenges. But they also come with many wonderful opportunities. I mentioned my first ministry among the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) in Manitoba. My family lived in a Métis community of…
Read MoreThe Joys and Challenges of Small Church Ministry
Recently, I had the joy of ministering to a church in a community in southern Minnesota whose posted population was 1322. The village is on a secondary road that runs north to south and is located about forty miles from the third largest city in Minnesota, Rochester. Rochester itself boasts a population of less than…
Read MoreChanges over the Past Forty Years of Ministry – Has This All Been Worth It?
It’s been forty-three years since I graduated from Bible school, and forty years since I began my formal ministry. I was ordained in Madison, Indiana, in the fall of 1981, shortly before my wife and I moved to Manitoba to begin our first ministry. Forty years! It hardly seems possible. Forty years ago, I was…
Read MoreMarks of a Forward-Looking Ministry
Tit 1.4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. In an age fascinated by startup companies, it’s also fascinating to acknowledge longstanding, multi-generational companies which have weathered the sands of time. Consider the following four companies which have operated for more…
Read MoreA Letter to My Brothers
Last Thursday was a very sad day for the evangelical church. The long-awaited report on the sexual misconduct of Ravi Zacharias was released confirming the worst sort of duplicity and moral failure. For years, Ravi, a well-known international Christian apologist, led a double life. While he presented himself as a pious, Christ-loving disciple, he was…
Read MoreThe Paradoxes of Shutdown Ministries
Jeff Straub outlined the challenges posted by Covid church restrictions in Canada for us yesterday. I’d like to offer a testimonial “from the ground,” so to speak. I should preface by saying that I don’t look on the ministry in our church as representative of the whole. Each situation is different, some churches may well…
Read MoreLet’s Keep Our Eyes on Our Task
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? Acts 1:6 We so often get so busy with our agendas that we totally forget why we are here. Why is it God created us and then recreated us in Christ Jesus?…
Read MoreThe Weak Church: Making Much of Christ
Planted in Weakness Christianity has enjoyed a position of strength in Western society for a long time. The church once commanded kings, encompassed nations, and dominated the world. But things were not always this way. Before the Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in the Byzantine Empire through the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D., Christianity was…
Read MoreThe Pastor’s Confidence
You are a Christian pastor. You have dedicated your life to preaching the gospel, giving men and women answers for their questions, comfort for their sorrows, hope for their fears, and wisdom for their doubts. You spend your days and years strengthening the faithful, restoring the fallen, and warning the foolish. You love the people…
Read MoreHelping Others Overcome Anger
Proverbs 21:19 states, “Better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and angry woman.” This proverb is equally true regarding a “contentious and angry” husband, parent, child, coworker, church member, etc. Angry people make life miserable for everyone. Therefore, if you live or work with an angry person, you surely long to see…
Read More