Marks of Maturity in the Ministry (Part 2)
Popularity or success. This leads to a third mark of maturity: knowing the difference between popularity and success. Barabbas was popular but hardly a success. Popularity is a passing thing; success is permanent. (Of course sin can transform a successful pastor into a failure; but the work of an obedient man continues to help others.)
Things They Forgot To Tell Me In Seminary
As I look back over my ministry of nearly thirty years, I am reminded of some painful lessons I learned along the way. Although I’ve never received combat pay in the ministry, I’ve been in situations where warfare was a fairly accurate description of what was going on. As I’ve accessed the memory files of
Marks of Maturity in the Ministry (Part 1)
The work that the pastor does cannot be separated from the life that he lives. A man may be a successful surgeon and, at the same time, a compulsive gambler; or he may teach algebra with great success and get drunk every weekend. But the man in the ministry reproduces after his kind. This is
The Glory of Separation (Part 1)
In an earlier chapter we noted that from the Greek word for “transfigure” comes our English word “metamorphosis.” It means “a change on the outside that comes from the inside.” When that little larva forms its cocoon and waits, nature performs a marvelous miracle. God made it that way. The creature that emerges is a
Is Anybody Out There Stressed Out?
Not long ago, I was walking through an airport and noticed an area designated as a “Dollar minute, keep your shirt on” massage for weary travelers. As one who deals with constant inflammation of the joints and tissue in my back, this looked like a great deal. Normally, after preaching three sermons on Sunday, my