“Sitting in a chair for twenty minutes every day with an open Bible and an open heart will cure 95% of your spiritual problems,” said Jim Cymbala, pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York City in a recent Twitter post. I agree with Pastor Jim. All Christians know that Bible intake is mandatory for personalContinue reading “How to have a quiet time”
Tag Archives: learn
Problems demand and deserve solutions
Four thousand churches close their doors each year. On top of that, 70% of Kentucky Baptist churches are plateaued or in decline. At least 20% of Kentucky Baptist churches did not baptize a new believer in the past twelve months. Persistent and unresolved problems are often a factor in such declining churches. The church inContinue reading “Problems demand and deserve solutions”
Appreciate your pastor
October is recognized worldwide as Pastor Appreciation Month. Some will remember Focus on the Family in the 1990s encouraging churches to show appreciation to their pastors and staff — but to do so especially during the month of October. Since that time churches have found unique ways to honor their pastor and staff. Why shouldContinue reading “Appreciate your pastor”
Taking homecomings from good to great
Many Baptist churches schedule a homecoming each year. A homecoming service can be a great opportunity for a congregation to celebrate God’s past faithfulness over the congregation, recognize the present ministry of the church and look to the future in hopes that the best days of the church are ahead. Like anything else the churchContinue reading “Taking homecomings from good to great”
Numbers matter
It has been said, “Pastors who don’t want to talk about numbers don’t have any numbers to talk about.” I have also heard, “Pastors who live by numbers will die a thousand deaths.” A quick google search will reveal that there is little agreement over which numbers should matter to church leaders. Numbers do notContinue reading “Numbers matter”
Compare and Despair
Do you compare yourself to other pastors or leaders? If so, who is the object of your comparison? The person who comes to mind may reveal whether your battle with comparison is a struggle with pride or insecurity. Prideful people tend to compare themselves to others they view as lesser than themselves while insecure leadersContinue reading “Compare and Despair”
Healthy Reflection
Have you ever spent time reflecting on your ministry? In a recent gathering where Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountain, spoke, he began his time with the group by asking us to reflect on what we had heard from a previous speaker. Tod even shared a list of questions to begin our conversation. HisContinue reading “Healthy Reflection”
Stretched beyond repair
Have you heard the rubber band analogy? The idea is that a rubber band kept stretched out for an extended period will eventually lose its elasticity and never return to its original shape or strength. The point of the analogy is that leaders are like rubber bands. We cannot remain stretched out with busy schedulesContinue reading “Stretched beyond repair”
This is encouraging
Seldom do I find statistical information encouraging. In fact, the opposite is true. But my reaction was strikingly different when Lifeway’s research director, Scott McConnell, shared with a group of leaders some recent statistical discoveries about churches. The stat that caught my attention was the way church members viewed their churches approach to handling theContinue reading “This is encouraging”
5 Reasons to Use Your Vacation Time
Just picture it: five days of watching your kids build sandcastles or chase crabs on the beach, exploring new parts of God’s creation, not having to clean up dishes, and falling in love with your spouse in a new and fresh way. Vacations can facilitate all these blessings and more! Depending on how long oneContinue reading “5 Reasons to Use Your Vacation Time”
Dr. Todd Gray 