As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“I’ve met church members who are hard on themselves. Like radar that mistakes birds for bombers, their consciences hold them in a state of emergency. They live under the threat of God’s judgment. They apologize a lot. Some are hard on others, too. Like air traffic controllers with defective equipment, they cry danger when there is none. They accuse a lot.” - 9 Marks
“At least seven times in the pastoral epistles, Paul directly charges Timothy and Titus to ‘avoid’ and to ‘have nothing to do with’ ideas and people who pose a threat to their flock.” - Baptist Press
“Emotional strain among pastors has reached its lowest point in a decade—inadequacy, exhaustion, and energy have all improved….Yet vocational satisfaction tells a different story: the share of pastors who are ‘very satisfied’ with their vocation has fallen from 72 percent in 2015 to 52 percent in 2026.” - Barna Research
“At its heart, preaching is not a technical task to be optimized but a Spirit-led calling to shepherd people with Biblical truth. That conviction framed a recent Bridge Fellowship gathering of pastors in Grand Rapids, where the pastors spoke honestly about AI and its place (if any) in sermon preparation and presentation.” - GARBC
“This article aims to define strategy as it pertains to the church and to encourage pastors to embrace strategic thinking as a vital step toward fulfilling their mission. While I don’t delve into the specifics of developing a strategy here, I believe understanding its importance is a powerful first step.” - CPPL
“Seminary didn’t prepare me to understand that this is the privilege of pastoral ministry—to be beside you, serving as your pastor at the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in your lives; to be with you from life’s first cry, when you welcome your child(ren) into the world, to life’s final breath, when you leave the land of the dying for the land of the living” - 9 Marks
“In this episode, Pastor Brian Cederquist encourages pastors to remember that your invisible, daily work matters in God’s eyes. And when you stand before Him one day, He will measure you not by how impressive your platform was, but by how faithfully you stewarded what was entrusted to you.” - Baptist Bulletin Podcast
“And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” - 1 Corinthians 2:3–5 (ESV)
What did Paul mean when he wrote of his “weakness…in fear and much trembling?” Clearly, Paul was connecting his preaching to these things (“…my speech and my message…”). I think that Paul’s words here are a much-needed correction to the celebrity culture within the Western church today.
“Deepak Reju helps pastors counsel their people when there is no passage of Scripture that explicitly addresses a particular question or issue.
“Respondents were asked: ‘Have you given real, serious consideration to quitting being in full-time ministry within the last year?’ While nearly a quarter responded ‘yes’ in December 2025, that number is down significantly from a peak of 42% in March 2022.” - CPost
Discussion