So you want to be a missionary?
I co-sign this one. ‘So you want to be a missionary; what should you do? This question has one easy answer.’
Want to tend to your pastor’s heart? Show up
It really is that simple.
Pastor’s wife, prepare yourself for seasons of discouragement
‘Most ministry wives experience plenty of bumps and bruises along the way. If you’ve been in the role of pastor’s wife for a month, a year, 10 years, or 50, it’s likely that at one point or another you will face discouragement. When you do, will you be prepared?’
Pastor, you can’t be all things to all people
‘Just because we’re willing to do anything doesn’t mean that we should do everything. Balancing our role as a servant and our responsibility to be a good steward of our ministry gifts requires a clear grasp of our priorities and a profound sense of what is important in moving toward accomplishing the purposes of our ministry.’
Is a lack of holiness our real problem in evangelism?
‘In the rush to be culturally aware I worry that we’re basically trying to be less holy so that the world likes us and therefore likes Jesus and will listen to the gospel. Here’s the problem, firstly that doesn’t work, when was the last time a non-believer said “Wow! You’re just like me there must be something in what you believe.” Secondly, the world doesn’t need us to be more like them it needs us to be less like them and more like Jesus. It needs to see what purified believers look like.’
Why is Stella Creasy shutting down debate?
Paul Embery highlights some of the problems over recent moves by Stella Creasy to stop anti-abortion activists from campaigning in her constituency.
From the archive: Don’t be scared of lame evangelism
‘I often look at what we’re doing and feel it is a bit naff. Divvying out some leaflets to people hardly feels like you are breaking new territory for the kingdom; offering fairly pedestrian presentations about some aspect of the Christian faith to a handful of people committed to a diametrically opposing belief systems does not feel especially significant; little of what we do would sell out the tiniest of venues were we to ticket it. But I want to say that we should not be scared of such lameness.’