Posts Tagged ‘ministry’
The Way Home: Scotty Smith and Russ Masterson on pastoring in this season
In this episode of The Way Home podcast I am joined by Scotty Smith, pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee, and Russ Masterson, pastor of Christ the Redeemer Church of Marietta, Georgia. We talk about the pressures and burdens on pastors in this season. We also discuss how pastors can find hope and comfort and…
Read MoreThe Way Home: Melissa Fuller on women in ministry and studying the Bible
In this episode of The Way Home podcast I am joined by Melissa Fuller, the content director for Love God Greatly, an international women’s ministry aimed at equipping women around the world with Bible study resources. She has and infectious love for God’s word and helping women fall in love with Scripture and with Jesus, and…
Read MoreThe Way Home: Dr. Stephen Nichols on the life of R.C. Sproul
In this episode of The Way Home podcast I am joined by Dr. Stephen Nichols, President of Reformation Bible College and chief academic officer for Ligonier Ministries, founded by Dr. R.C. Sproul. On this episode, Dr. Nichols talks about the life of R.C. Sproul, how he interacted with him, and why he wanted to write his most recent…
Read MoreThe Way Home: Ben Mandrell on leading local churches and Easter
In this episode of the special Easter series in conjunction with my book “The Characters of Easter,” I am joined by my friend Ben Mandrell, President and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources. On this episode, Ben talks about the challenges and opportunities with Christian publishing, his previous role as a pastor for many years, and…
Read MoreHow to Pastor Single Adults
Lisa Anderson is the editor of Boundless, one of the finest resources for young adults in the evangelical world. She’s also host of the Boundless Podcast, where she interviews leading thinkers on issues of singleness, sexuality, marriage, and culture. I had the chance to interview Lisa this week for Leadership Journal. I asked her questions on…
Read MoreThe Power of a Mentor
You can’t underestimate the power of a mentor. I know that because six years ago, a man came into my life who would shape me in profound ways. This month I had the chance to write about this man, Bill Swanger, and his impact. Here’s an excerpt: Bill became one of my best friends during…
Read MoreMy Prayer Before the Illinois General Assembly
I had the honor of delivering the convocation on Monday afternoon before the Illinois General Assembly in Springfield. I was graciously invited by the state representative whose district includes Gages Lake, Rep. Sam Yingling. I brought my eight-year old daughter, Grace. We are kindly hosted down in Springfield by my friends, Dan and Linda Anderson…
Read MoreFriday Five: Darryl Dash
I’m privileged to chat today with my good friend, Darryl Dash. I first met Darryl after finding his excellent blog. Then we had some email correspondence. Finally, we had the chance to meet face to face when I visited Toronto for a media appearance last year. As a young pastor, I was grateful to learn…
Read MoreImmigration Policy and Ministry
The Gospel Coalition is running a two-part blog series I coauthored with Matthew Soerens of World Relief on the sensitive subject of gospel ministry and immigration policy. In the first part we concentrated on a pastor’s role in shaping the attitudes of Christians toward immigrants, both legal and illegal. In the second part, we dived…
Read More5 Leadership Lessons I’ve Learned in 4 Years
I’m nearing my fourth years as Senior Pastor at Gages Lake Bible Church, which means I’m just beginning. I’m still learning. John Maxwell need not fear. I won’t be dethroning him from the position of Leadership Guru anytime soon. However, being on the job has taught me a few things about leadership, especially for young…
Read MoreFriday Five: Lin Johnson
Lin Johnson is one of the most influential people in Christian publishing as a writer, editor, and instructor. Perhaps here biggest contribution is her annual Write to Publish Conference, held every year on the campus of Wheaton College. Personally, the Write to Publish Conference has had more influence on my writing career than almost any…
Read MoreCan We Build the Church By Being Against the Church?
It’s hard to read a Christian book or blog post or to hear a sermon without hearing some overt or implied criticism of some part of the evangelical Church as a whole. That’s not even counting the Twitter feeds of Christians. I’m reading a terrific book right on the centrality of the gospel by one of my…
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