Matthew | January 31, 2011
To meet or not to meet, this is the question. Probably every congregation is different in this area. I have worked with congregations that mostly I never met with the eldership during the majority of their meetings. I have met with elderships that mostly met, and if they needed me would call me in for [...]
Matthew | January 27, 2011
I believe everyone, well every minister has heard terrible firing stories. Probably, some of you that read this blog have experience this story personally. There are horror stories a plenty. There are the “you are fired” and you are gone today. There is no timetable for the minister to locate another work. There are the [...]
Matthew | January 25, 2011
Review of Reconstructing Pastoral Theology The premise of this book is a reaction to some of the prevailing notions of pastoring in the present church. Much of the role of the pastor has been captured by psychology and social work. The author responds to this mistaken focus by re-centering the work of the pastor back [...]
Matthew | January 24, 2011
This is just a little observation that I had. Maybe a little confession to from my part. It is a little reflection for those who ask, what is the difference between undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate studies. Well, here is the major difference. In undergraduate studies, when there is a book assigned you look at it, [...]
Matthew | January 20, 2011
This is not one of those long books. It is written more for children. There are two other biographies of Sidney Crosby on the market, and this is not one that is extensive, it is only about 84 pages, which are full of pictures. My mother got me this book for Christmas, and I finished [...]
Matthew | January 19, 2011
For year I heard about the myth of the churches of Christ, you know the myth, it always seemed like a myth. The myth goes like this. A preacher of the church is giving a simple lesson on the plan of salvation. At the end of the lesson, someone comes forward, who was never there [...]
Matthew | January 18, 2011
A lot of people have experienced the slow moving nature of churches. We should not be too shocked in this. I do recall that God’s people wandered around a wilderness for 40 years. Slowness is certainly part of most congregation. And this is not all bad. Over the years, I have certainly been annoyed over [...]
Matthew | January 13, 2011
I want to give a non-spiritual skill set growth plan for ministers. Of course, these are not to be trusted in as much as the fruit of the Spirit and the power of God. But we all need to be working on improving ourselves in spirit and out of spirit. So here are some things [...]
Matthew | January 12, 2011
As most people know, I cannot vote. I have lifetime legalization in America, since I am a Canadian citizen. But I do find politics interesting. So over the past Christmas season, I took a break from reading theological works for a class to read something a little lighter. Not that this book was light, it [...]
Matthew | January 11, 2011
This past Sunday, while it was storming outside, I sat in the warm house talking on the phone for a radio show. My friend Dale Sadler is the host of “Project Family”. He is a personal friend, well more than a friend, he is one of the best friends I have, and someone who I [...]
