What Does a Committed Church Member Look Like?
There are many marks of true discipleship, but one mark is singled out as signifying to the watching world that we belong to Christ.
Articles on Church Ministry
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10 Reasons Pastors Should Study the Bible in Its Original Languages
Every pastor—as time and opportunities arise—should study the Bible in its original languages. Yes, it's that important.
The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community
This new book calls us to embrace the uncomfortable aspects of Christian community, whether that means believing difficult truths, pursuing difficult holiness, or loving difficult people.
What Is a Healthy Way to Leave a Church?
Leaving the church is painful for Christians and pastors, and we've seen a lot of it over the last couple of years through COVID, election crises, and racial crises.
5 Myths about Being Called to Ministry
Are you called to the ministry? How can you tell if you’re called to ministry? What should you do to find out?
What Is the Job of the Pastor?
Collin Hansen, Jonathan Leeman
Your ability to do your job as a church member depends on pastors or elders doing their jobs.
Church Membership Is Not a One-Way Street
What is church membership? It’s the commitment Christians make to keep one another accountable for regularly gathering and centering their lives together on the gospel.
5 Questions about the Sacraments
What is a sacrament and what is its purpose in the church? Learn answers from To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism.
How to Pray for Your Pastor’s Family
Would you like to show your pastor your appreciation but are unsure what might be most helpful to him? More than any other gift you could give your pastor, he will treasure your prayers for his family.
The Trinity Transforms the Church into a Community of Love
Just as the church is the glorious gift of love from God the Father to Christ the Son, so the church, as the body of Christ, reflects that Trinitarian love and beauty outwardly to the world.
5 Stumbling Blocks to Pastoral Honesty
Why isn’t humble candor more of a regular part of our ministry leadership culture? Why aren’t we more ready to confess spiritual discouragement or struggle?
Dear Pastor . . . Your Shepherd Doesn’t Care How Big Your Church Is
What the Lord requires of us is faithfulness. And while it’s perfectly normal for every pastor to want his church to grow, it’s also idolatrous to marry our validation and our justification to our attendance.
What Does It Mean for Jesus Christ to Be the Head of the Church?
The phrase "head of the church" is not employed to identify Christ as the head of a company or the head of some earthly organization.
5 Questions about the Local Church
Ultimately, the local church makes visible what is invisible, and reflects in words and deeds the kingdom life that is to come.
Is Joining a Church as a Member Actually Necessary?
Collin Hansen, Jonathan Leeman
Sometimes people like to say, “I don’t need to join a church. I already belong to Christ’s universal church.” Is that right?
People throw the word church around quite a bit, and often they have different things in mind.
10 Disciplines of a Godly Pastor
As we sweat out the disciplines of a godly pastor, remember, with Paul, what energizes us to live them out.
6 Things to Look for in a Pastor
What are some things to consider when searching for a new pastor to lead the church?
Dear Pastor . . . You’re a Shepherd, Not an Entrepreneur
If we plant churches as pastors, not entrepreneurs, whose aim is to love Christ and feed and tend the sheep of Christ’s reward, then we can sleep well knowing our work will endure.
The Church’s Central Role in the Coming of the Kingdom of God
It’s not to the government, nor to any king or pope or any other ruler, but rather to the church that the keys of the kingdom of God are given.
Our church’s gatherings are ultimately about God. We worship according to his desires, not ours. When we gather we should be governed by God’s word, not our preferences.
Our new status and our new identity are due to the saving mercy and transformative power of God and are not of ourselves.
3 Convictions You Need to Have before You Teach the Bible
If you’re just getting started teaching the Bible, this is the first thing I want to put in your mind: beginning preachers and teachers (and experienced ones too!) need confidence in God’s word.
5 Myths about Being a Pastor’s Wife
What every congregation really needs to see is a family serving God with wholehearted devotion while dealing with the realities of sinful parents raising sinful children.
10 Things You Should Know about Inaugurated Eschatology
Traditionally eschatology consists of the return of Christ, the resurrection, the final judgment, heaven, and hell. Here's what else you should know.
10 Things You Should Know about the African Church
It is said that the number of Christians in Africa at the beginning of the twentieth century was about 9 million and that by the end of the twentieth century it was about 380 million.
What Are the Limits of a Church’s Authority?
Christians today tend to give little attention to the idea of church authority, just like we give little attention to church membership and discipline.
There is not an uninfluenced day, hour, or minute in our lives. We are constantly discipled by the cultural, relational, and spiritual forces around us. Which discipling forces influence you the most?
The Church and Homosexuality: 10 Commitments
Of the many complexities involving the church and homosexuality, one of the most difficult is how the former should speak of the latter.
The Hidden Value of Pastoral Gentleness
As leaders of God’s people, we all long to make a difference for Christ. We don’t want to be unfruitful. The main reason to nurture gentleness is neither pragmatic nor historical, but biblical.