We as pastors sometimes get so focused on doing the work of ministry that we often fail to understand our identity in Christ. The gospel tells us that “being” (identity) comes before “doing” (obedience). This lack of understanding our gospel identity oftentimes results in either legalistic pride or frustrating guilt. Pastors are not immune to either of these pitfalls. Before we can effectively lead our congregations, we as pastors desperately need to understand that being comes before doing. Many times when we think of the gospel, we only think of it as the information a lost person needs in order to be saved. We see it as the entry requirements for the Christian life. Instead, the gospel
One of the things I love about our church is that we are blessed to have multiple individuals who are gifted to preach and teach God's Word. It was not always that way. In fact, in each of my first two years as the Lead Pastor of Calvary, I remember preaching 49 out of 52 weeks if my memory serves me right! Of course, when you are a very small congregation with one pastor this is often the only option. I am truly grateful for our sweet congregation for so graciously sitting through my preaching week after week those first few years! However, I was convinced then, just as I am now, that this model of having one pastor who preaches week in and week out, year in and year out, is not the wisest,
In 1830, Joseph Smith founded The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) with a congregation of 50 people, and only 6 official members. Fast forward to 2017, and the LDS Church now boasts around 6.5 million members in the United States and about 16 million church members world-wide. All of that to say –the Mormons are here, and for the foreseeable future they are here to stay. As Christians, many of us have Mormon friends, neighbors, co-workers, family members, or have even had missionaries in white shirts and black ties knock on our door asking us if we’d like to hear the “gospel” of Jesus Christ. Many of us know that something is wrong with the Mormon faith, but because they loo
Pastors are protectors. God's people, His sheep, are in constant need of protection. Read these important words for Pastor-shepherds from Acts 20:28-30: Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseer. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. Sheep cannot protect themselves and they won’t work together like other herd animals to protect each other. They will allow the wolf to come and take and kill. Wolves are cunning
