Four Lessons From Four Years (Part 1)

Paul J. Scharf

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.

Discussion

Gold in the Laundry: Finding Value in the Mundane

M.R. Conrad

Reposted from Rooted Thinking.(link is external) (2020)

Bathe the children. Cook three square meals. Weed the garden. Repair the fence. Beat back the vines of the encroaching jungle. Unclog the outhouse. Patch the hole in the roof. Help the neighbors. Such was the life of missionary Mary Slessor. Far from the conveniences of her homeland, this Scottish woman found the mundane chores of daily life in Nigeria consuming her time. Is your life similarly filled with repetitive, mind-numbing tasks? Do you feel there is little value in the mundane?

Discussion

Pastor, Keep Running Your Race

SI Filings

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(link is external)

Discussion

Honoring the Faithful

Paul J. Scharf

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.

Discussion

In Praise of the Boring, Uncool Church

SI Filings

“…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 (link is external)

Discussion

Are our pulpits full of preachers who want to quit but haven't yet?

SI Filings

“Even if we haven’t seen a dramatic increase in pastoral attrition, many people believe it’s still coming…. If the bubble does burst later this year or next, all eyes are on three demographics: pastors early in their careers, those nearing retirement, and bivocational ministers.” - C.Today(link is external)

Discussion

Pastor, It’s Worthwhile

SI Filings

“I am a pastor—no one you’ve ever heard of and, by every statistic I have read, that’s most pastors.” - Denison Forum(link is external)

Discussion

Research: Habits of Pastors Who Endure in Ministry; How You can Help

SI Filings

“The following 12 practices were identified by comparing current pastors with former pastors who had left the pastorate before retirement age. We analyzed which questions most strongly predict whether a pastor continues to serve as a senior pastor.” - Lifeway(link is external)

Discussion

How It Ends... Living in the Now—Patient Endurance

SI Filings

“It’s those with long experience who are in a position to “keep calm and carry on”—to focus on executing the fundamentals when it looks like the other team is just going to run up the score. To be the tortoise rather than the hare.” - Olinger(link is external)

Discussion