Pastoral Ministry

Ultimatums usually aren’t helpful. Especially if you’re engaged in work that draws heavily on one’s personality. When you attempt to take up a mantra or a method which doesn’t fit you, you should follow David’s example, and give Saul his armor back. Better to fight with what you know, than to die...

In his book, A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm, Phillip Keller shares that, “Sometimes … a shepherd will actually hold his staff against the side of some sheep that is a special pet or favourite, simply so that they ‘are in touch’. They will walk along this way almost as though it were ‘hand-in-...

Theology for Ministry Since assuming his first pastorate in 1971, Sinclair Ferguson’s life and Bible teaching have left an indelible mark on the lives and ministries of his parishioners, students, colleagues, and friends. Our guest today edited and contributed to a Festschrift published in Ferguson...

I hope that you’ve read the previous four articles on the doctrines of grace: depravity, election, limited atonement, and irresistible grace. This 5 th installment may not make much sense to you if you haven’t. The reason for this is because this final doctrinal summation of Reformed thought is the...

Melito of Sardis – Pastor, Theologian, and Poet Melito is not a familiar name today. Until the last century, we could only find a mention of him in Eusebius’s Ecclesiastical History , mostly in connection with the controversy over the day in which the feast of Pascha (Easter) was to be celebrated...

Reformation Day is drawing near. It provides an annual opportunity for Protestant churches worldwide to fulfil the exhortation of the letter to the Hebrews: ‘Remember your leaders’ (He 13.7). It reminds us that, without in any way falling into the sin of venerating mere men, it is good for us to...

How little we appreciate the privilege and blessing of prayer. That we, sinful mortals as we are, should have access to God beggars belief. That he should even consider us, let alone countenance our requests is astounding. Yet he calls us to pray, he has opened the way of access in Christ for us to...

Back in 1959 a short book appeared under the title The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner . It was the fictional account of a troubled teenager who took up running to deal with his inner troubles and it was later turned into a movie under the same title. I have often wondered if there might be...

After Carl’s Freudian slip concerning his being a pastor, our resident professor/minister/author quickly recovers and gets back on track by introducing his sidekick and their special guest. Benjamin Fischer is a missionary priest of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, rector of Christ the Redeemer, a...

Church was never intended to be the spiritual equivalent of a spectator sport. Yet, somehow, this is how it has come to be treated, not only by many Christians; but by their pastors as well. Those who serve as ministers of Christ can easily approach their calling as though it is their job to please...