Al Fasol, Roy Fish, Steve Gaines, Ralph Douglas West. Preaching Evangelistically: Proclaiming the Saving Message of Jesus. B&H, 2005. 148 pp.
Characteristics of an Effective Evangelistic Service
Know Your Listeners
Some preachers study the Bible. Others study people and culture. Effective preachers analyze both. Why? Because the effective evangelistic preacher will preach differently to a group of senior adults than he preaches to a group of high school seniors. Likewise, he will preach differently to a group of unchurched, white-collar, upper-class people in suburban Los Angeles than he preaches to a group of church-oriented, blue-collar, middle-class people living in a rural area in the southeastern United States. Although the message of the gospel never changes, how it is presented should connect with the cultural persuasions and unique personalities of the people addressed.
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Michael Fletcher. Overcoming Barriers to Growth: Proven Strategies for Taking Your Church to the Next Level. Bethany House, 2006. 144 pp.
God Has a Plan for You and Your Church!
If the pastor and elders will adjust the way they relate together in leadership and realign some of the internal structures they built into the church, they can keep right on growing. Most churches don’t make those adjustments for two reasons: (1) They don’t see the barrier, so they don’t see the need; and (2) they don’t want to change what they perceive made them successful in the first place.
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Alfred Poirier. The Peacemaking Pastor: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Church Conflict. Baker, 2006. 320 pp.
Christ is the reason many enter the pastorate. Conflict is the reason many leave. . . . Many young pastors enter their calling naïvely, believing that orthodox preaching, well-ordered worship, and a sufficient number of different venues for discipleship will be all they need to grow their members in faith and their church in numbers. Once in the pastorate, however, the reality of conflict and an inability to respond to it in a wise, godly, and gospel manner soon cripple both their effectiveness as pastors and their church’s witness. . . .
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Derek Prime & Alistair Begg. On Being a Pastor: Understanding Our Calling and Work. Moody, 2006. 320 pp.
Our Secret and Personal Life
Behind our public life there needs to be a hidden life where our roots are firmly fixed in God Himself (Psalm 1:3). As we turn our attention to our devotional life, we have in view that most private part of our daily life when we go into our room, close the door, and spend time with our Father in secret (Matthew 6:6). We will rightly teach others the importance of this daily practice. It is all the more vital for us, because we may lack those who care for our souls as we do for others. We firmly believe that the latter ought not to be the case, and we will return to that subject later when we consider pastoral care. But where it is so, then we need to be all the more watchful for the growth and development of our own spiritual life. . . .
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James W. Thompson. Pastoral Ministry According to Paul: A Biblical Vision. Baker, 2006. 176 pp.
In the present era, the minister is ultimately measured by the ability to organize, build, and manage a complex organization. Congregations continue to assume that the minister will maintain the traditional roles of marrying and burying, but they believe that the ultimate goal of the minister is to take the congregation to a new level of growth. The minister must be both an effective communicator and an administrator. In a competitive religious marketplace, the task of the minister is to ensure that the congregation maintains its place among religious consumers. Often search committees no longer look for someone who conforms to one of these models. Instead they seek someone who is a combination of, for instance, Jay Leno, Lee Iacocca, and Dr. Phil.
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Blaine Allen. When People Throw Stones: A Leader’s Guide to Fielding Personal Criticism. Kregel, 2005. 176 pp.
A Terrorist?
No, not really. But in your less-than-better moments, you have thought that, have you not? They were so nice. So unassuming. So service oriented. And then boom! With words strapped to bombs, those whom you serve let it rip. Innuendo. Gossip. Criticized before others. An outright frontal attack. When the smoke clears, it feels as if your life, your family, and for sure your ministry, lie in a bloody ruin. You expect it from those who make no claim to know the Lord, but from those who say they are His followers?
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MeLissa Houdmann. New Kid on the Blog. Church Executive Magazine, July 2006. 38, 40-41 pp
Why Pastors Should Plug In
Do you remember your first journey into cyberspace? You clicked from site to site with anticipation as you teleported across the net reading the news and checking the weather. There was a fascination as to where you would land next. Today, the Internet is bigger than ever and pastors are plugging in to get actively involved. Pastor as blogger is now commonplace.
The word blog is a combination of the words “web log” and is essentially an online journal. Blogs can focus on specific topics like politics, news, business and hobbies, or serve as a place to post personal thoughts, rants and ramblings. Blogs are generally updated on a consistent basis. Some people even update numerous times a day.
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