- Follow What Does the Text Say? on WordPress.com
-
-
Recent Posts
- Psalm 98; “Joy to the world”
- The Perfect Revelation of the Lord (Psalm 19)
- Abiding in Christ is essential to praying and receiving answers to prayer (John 15:7)
- Abiding in Christ is essential because those who don’t abide are cast out (John 15:6)
- Abiding in Christ is the only way to be fruitful in what matters (John 15:5)
Friend or Follow me on Facebook
Meta
Category Archives: Pastoral Ministry
Don’t choose style over substance in your preaching
Here are three ways we choose style over substance along with some thoughts on avoiding these problems. 1. We spend more time on the illustrations than we do wrestling with the text. In my tradition the danger usually lies in … Continue reading
The hardest but most important thing about pastoral ministry
A missionary wanted to meet with me recently to ask me about ministry. He told me he wanted to know what pastoral ministry is like. One of the first questions he asked me is this: What is the hardest … Continue reading
Posted in Pastoral Ministry, Uncategorized
Tagged pastoral care, pastoral ministry, Pastoral Theology
Leave a comment
Martin Luther’s questions to ask yourself about your preaching
I have all manner of tidbits that I’ve picked up in my reading and recorded in my notebooks for my own benefit. Here is one preachers will find helpful: Martin Luther’s questions to ask yourself about your preaching: Do you … Continue reading
Posted in Pastoral Ministry, preaching
Leave a comment
Three Things People Should Hear in Every Sermon You Preach
There are some things that should be standard practice in every sermon. To learn to do these every time will take preparation and practice but they will make you a better, that is, a more Christ-centered and text-driven, preacher. 1. … Continue reading
Martin Luther: Three Principles Every Preacher Should Have
It is not necessary for a preacher to express all his thoughts in one sermon. A preacher should have three principles: first, to make a good beginning, and not spend time with many words before coming to the point; secondly, … Continue reading
Posted in Pastoral Ministry, preaching
Tagged Martin Luther, pastoral ministry, preaching
Leave a comment
Pastoral Ministry has no “Career Path”
In James Strock’s excellent book Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership, he recounts TR (as he was known then and now) as saying that a person has to be careful about ambition. Early in his political career. As a twenty-three-year-old alderman, TR … Continue reading
Five Truths You Have to Come to Terms with to be a Better Pastor
The painful truths are usually the ones that best aid growth. These five truths about yourself as a pastor are painful to realize but will help you grow as a pastor and as a person. You are not the best … Continue reading
My one rule of preaching and the answer to the question “What is your preaching style?”
I get asked this question from time-to-time: “What is your preaching style?” (as I’m sure many pastors do) and the answer isn’t easy. “Expository” is probably the best technical term, but I don’t think that’s what people are looking for when … Continue reading
Using Greek and Hebrew in the Pulpit
How much do you use the Greek and Hebrew that you learned? How do you handle these things when preaching? These are questions that are often asked in seminary classes and asked back and forth among pastors. The danger on … Continue reading
Posted in Languages, Pastoral Ministry, preaching
Tagged Greek, Hebrew, languages, pastoral ministry, preaching
3 Comments
The Role of Education in Pastoral Ministry
The question of what role education should play in the pastor’s ministry is discussed at length in some circles with everyone still believing after the discussion ends the same thing they believed before the discussion began. Everyone agrees that education … Continue reading
What Does the Text Say? 