One story that always intrigues me in Scripture is the story of Elijah. No, not that story. We all love to look at the story of Elijah (1 Kgs. 18), standing resolute before the prophets of Baal and Asherah, calling them out for not being able to get Baal’s attention to consume the sacrifice only … [Read more…]
Cultivating friendships with those outside of the faith requires vulnerability, authenticity, and patience but can be rewarding in our lives. By Jacob Lewis Last year, I was struck by a particular set of statistics from Lifeway Research regarding pastors struggling with feelings of loneliness. According to Lifeway Research’s Greatest Needs of Pastors study, more than 1 … [Read more…]
In 2019, an interesting study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In this study, the authors investigated changes in the brain caused by social isolation. It has been well established in other research that animals experiencing social isolation experienced negative changes in their brains’ structure and function. These authors wanted to see … [Read more…]
The recklessness with which we approach ministry makes the work harder and can hinder people from coming to Christ and growing in maturity. By Luke Holmes A new world record was recently set for marathons. A 50-year-old runner known as “Uncle Chen” finished a marathon in China in under three and a half hours. That … [Read more…]
Over the past two posts, we’ve been discussing where we should camp out and where we shouldn’t in terms of coping with anxiety and fear. In the last post, the focus was on how to deal with it when we have to camp in challenging places. This concept is not foreign to Philippians. As Paul … [Read more…]
If you’re a pastor facing your failures and having a hard time moving forward, these morsels of gospel hope in Mark 14 are for you. By Mark Dance Do you ever wonder why God keeps calling morons into the ministry? As I ask this, I’m not looking around the country. I am looking square into … [Read more…]
Shortly after my 39th birthday, I started experiencing chest pains on a somewhat regular basis. I wasn’t sure exactly what was causing them, but I know I had reason to get it checked out. My paternal great-grandfather died of a heart attack in his mid-fifties. His son, my paternal grandfather, died at 56 from heart … [Read more…]
During the Summer of 2021, I had the privilege of taking my then 16 year old son, Aidan, on a backpacking trip through the Maroon Bells in the Colorado Rockies. Those four days and 28 miles were a simultaneously grueling and exhilarating journey through mountainous backcountry. They provided breathtaking views and challenging obstacles. As I … [Read more…]
September 15th is an important day in my world. The main reason 9/15 is significant to me is because it’s the day I became a dad. My oldest, Elijah was born in the middle of the afternoon just over a year after Julie and I moved to TX so I could attend Southwestern. But 9/15 … [Read more…]
If I asked you to name the first jobs that come to mind that promote burnout, what would you say? ER Doctors? Nurses? Policemen and firefighters? Special education teachers? These are all accurate answers, but many may not realize that Pastor makes the list. Within the scope of the counseling side of pastoral ministry, pastors … [Read more…]