Pastoral Leadership

“God gave you the gift of ministry so that you would know him. If you lean into that truth, you will find power, effectiveness, freedom and joy in your work that you never thought possible.” - CLeaders

“We asked pastors around the world a simple question: what books did you read in 2020 that helped you be a better pastor? We’ve curated their responses below.” - 9 Marks

“After doing outdoor worship, Carroll announced in October that they were returning to having indoor worship services on Oct. 31 with social distancing guidelines.” - CPost

“A solid seminary training warns prospective pastors that they’re far likelier to be run out of a church due to interpersonal conflict than due to theological disagreement. Still, we see a surge of pastors so worn down by interpersonal conflict that they’re ready to initiate their own exits.” - TGC

“A man may be a good preacher, and may be good in a variety of pastoral situations, but the key issue here is ‘How does he handle disagreement with his vision or viewpoint, or how does he handle people when they aren’t where he would like them to be?’” - C.Leaders

“At the heart of all plagiarism are two sins: (1) theft and (2) deception. When a preacher plagiarizes he is not merely making an ‘unwise decision’ or engaging in ‘immature indiscretion.’ He is violating both the eighth and ninth commandments (Ex. 20:15–16). He is insulting a true and holy God.” - TGC

“Thirty-nine percent of Americans do not agree with pastoral endorsements even if it is outside their church role, according to the survey of 1,200 people conducted Sept. 9-23. Forty-three percent say it’s appropriate and 19% are unsure.” - C.Post

“Around a third of pastors (32 percent), however, say they have personally endorsed political candidates this year outside of their church role. That marks a 10-point jump from 2016 when 22 percent of Protestant pastors made an endorsement.” - BPNews

“The apostle Paul—hero pastor if there ever was one—strongly condemned allegiances to leaders: “What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’…. The problem with human heroes is they can displace or diminish our heart’s loyalty to our ultimate hero, Jesus Christ.” - TGC

“I have been devouring news and studies of churches and other organizations that are poised to move positively in the future. These organizations are not succumbing to the inevitability of life getting worse and organizational health deteriorating…. they are looking up and looking around to see the new paths and the new possibilities in this new reality.” - Thom Rainer