As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“If a Christian fails to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and if he fails to attach himself to the Lord Jesus Christ gaining an intimate relationship with Him, He opens the door for what we use to call ‘Backsliding.’” - P&D
“Charles Spurgeon said, ‘By perseverance, the snail reached the ark.’ This beautiful art illustrating Spurgeon’s words was created by Eden Kell” - Randy Alcorn
When I’m having a get-acquainted conversation with someone new, it’s common for them to ask what I do. “I’m a Baptist pastor,” I reply. They will usually ask the name and location of my church. Then comes the big one, “And how long have you been there?”
“Ron Wickard humbly pastored the same church out on the remote South Dakota prairie for 42 years, providing one beautiful model of what it means to ‘dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness’ (Psalm 37:3).” - Desiring God
I can’t believe it’s already your fifth year!
A statement like that was recently made by a friend—with a sense of amazement—regarding the fact that I have now begun my fifth year as a church ministries representative for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.
Yes, four years ago at this time I was nervously pondering how to announce to church congregations (many of which already knew me) that I now represented FOI and—the most dreaded issue of all—was in the position of attempting to raise financial support.
“Nearly all of the attention and encouragement given to pastors in conferences, podcasts, books, videos, or otherwise, is pointed to a stereotype of a younger pastor who is out there trying to change the world.” - C.Leaders
Podcast with transcript: “John Yates leads a pastoral panel with Matt Carter, Vermon Pierre, and Afshin Ziafat in a discussion on how hard ministry can be and what it takes to not lose heart. They discuss their personal experience of carrying the weight of the church and encountering criticism and fatigue.” - TGC
Memorial Day is always a wonderful time to reflect on the “good inheritance”1 (Ps. 16:6) that we enjoy as Americans, as Christians, and within our individual families. We honor those who have given of themselves—especially those who have given their very lives—for our country, and we also remember all of those who have preceded us in our family histories.
“…things that are cool are ephemeral. What’s fashionable is, by the necessity of the rules of fashion, quickly obsolete. This is one of many reasons why chasing cool is a fool’s errand for churches and pastors, as I argue in my book Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide.” - TGC
Discussion