Tim Keller Loves The Rural Church Too!

Being a pastor in the woods of  Maine, I was overjoyed to read this recent post from Tim Keller. With so much emphasis on urban church planting these days it’s quite rare to hear such encouraging words to consider pursuing ministry in a rural setting. After Keller’s litany of good reasons for being a ‘country parson’ he wisely cautions us to not view the pastorate of a small church as a mere stepping stone. This quote is worth a million Dunkin Donuts coffees.

Young pastors should not turn up their noses at such places, where they may learn the full spectrum of ministry tasks and skills as they will not in a large church. Nor should they go to small communities looking at them merely as stepping stones in a career. Why not? Your early ministry experience will only prepare you for ‘bigger things,’ if you don’t aspire for anything bigger than investment in the lives of the people around you. Wherever you serve, put your roots down, become a member of the community and do your ministry with all your heart and might. If God opens the door to go somewhere else, fine and good. But don’t go to such places looking at them only as training grounds for ‘real ministry.’

Thank you Tim Keller! May God raise up many men to serve Christ’s Church…even where there’s not a Starbucks within 20 miles!

Is Gospel-Centeredness a Fad?

What do you think? My answer, here.

Spurgeon Sabbatical 3.0

I’m currently enjoying my third Spurgeon Sabbatical. You can find out more here.

Pastors Need to Interview Churches

Pastors need to interview churches. Most often it’s the other way around. It needs to be both.

Nope. I’m not considering another pastorate. I love my church family. I’m convinced God has called me here. I will gladly serve him here the rest of my life if that’s what he wants! However…I wish that I would have asked the kinds of questions that Matt Schmucker recommends. I believe it would have strengthened my relationship with my church and its leadership even more quickly.

So if you’re seeking to be a pastor, gathered worship leader, youth pastor, _______pastor, you’ll benefit from Schmucker’s wisdom.

A close friend recently asked me what I’d ask about if I was considering a pastoral position at a church. Good question. Young pastors are too often focused on what they’ll be asked rather than on what they should ask. If this is the flock God is calling you to shepherd, ignorance is not your friend. The list below is not complete, nor should it be used exhaustively. It is simply a list of some things you may want to consider.

1. Statement of Faith. Is it available, used, and understood? Can I affirm each section? Does the congregation live this out? Is it an adequate statement about Scripture, God, and salvation? Does it require anything that the Bible does not require of being a Christian, i.e. abstinence?

2. Church Covenant. Is it available and practiced?

3. Constitution (bylaws). Does one exist? Is it updated and used? In it you’ll learn how they choose officers, accept new members and much more. Constitutions are generally invisible until there’s a problem and then they become incredibly important. Know what it says.

4. Budget. Does a budget exist (you’d be surprised!)? How is it formed? Does the congregation vote to accept the budget? A church’s budget will tell you a lot about the vision and priorities (i.e. heart) of a church.

5. Balance sheet. Don’t just look at the church budget; look at the balance sheet. It will tell you things about debt, designated funds and valuation of buildings. These things are not as important as a statement of faith, but there not unimportant, often dictating what a church can and cannot do financially.

6. Missions. A part of the budget should be international missions. You’ll learn a lot about a church through their missions giving. Do they give? Are they going to hard-to-reach places? How do they pick who to support? Do they support a few people very well or a lot of people poorly?

7. Order of service. Ask to see several weeks’ bulletins to get a feel for what the church does when it gathers.

The Pastor’s Library

If you’re a pastor, you need books. Good books. But if you’re going to build a library of good books you need to know at least two things.

1. What good books should I buy?
2. With what good bucks may I buy these good books?

Believe or not, The Pastor’s Library.Com will help you with both! If you’re pastor of any sort, I think you’ll find this website very helpful. There’s a bunch of helpful hints about setting up (or requesting!) a library budget, the pros and cons of software, and boatload of links for recommended resources and books.

“When I get a little money I buy books: and if any is left I buy food and clothes.” Erasmus