Practice

My natural interest leads me to migrate naturally more toward some of the functional sermon elements than others. For instant, my natural gifting and past studies lead me more toward heavy dense explanation in my sermons. Also, I love good stories personally and love to help people see the truth of God’s Word, so this leads me to appreciate and employ many illustrations when I preach. This is just the way I am wired! However, I am not as naturally inclined to think about and use application...

This article first appeared on Theological Matters, the academic blog of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Immigration, border security and citizen safety currently constitute one of the hottest issues in the American political scene. Certainly, no one can deny that this discussion was a major part of the rhetoric surrounding our last presidential election. Voices on both sides of the isle present compelling, if not emotive, appeals as to what we as a country should do. Depending on...

As we have explored the concept in both the Old and New Testaments, we have seen that the office of pastor is more than a good suggestion that can be taken or left, the fruits of successful pragmatism, or the culmination of the personal preferences of men. Instead, the office of pastor is based on specific biblical foundations resulting in a philosophy of biblical shepherding. Surely, then, the goal of our leading, what we do and why we do it in and through church, is not based on mere...

Anecdotally over the last 10 to 15 years, and more specifically during my four plus years in my role at NOBTS, less and less men appear to be expressing a call specifically to pastor the local church. This trend is concerning for me (but that may be a topic for another day and for another blog). More even than being concerning, it is perplexing. What is the problem? Surely God is still equipping and calling men to shepherd His churches. Perhaps the problem is fear or confusion. Perhaps we have...

We have been making the argument that a pastor is to lead God’s people, and if God establishes pastors as leaders, God cares not just that pastors lead, but He also cares how they lead. In an attempt to clarify how pastors are to lead, the term servant leader has become a popular term to use for pastors today. The term is a helpful term insomuch as it demonstrates the manner in which pastors are to lead. But there is a constant temptation to elevate one of these terms over the other. The...

We’ve made the argument that one of the roles of a pastor is to guard the church against false teaching and against false teachers. This role leads to a very important question, how do I know if someone is a false teacher? Jesus described false teachers as those who wore sheep’s clothing but who were actually ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:15). Paul said that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and that we should not be surprised if those who do Satan’s bidding disguise themselves as...

To accurately define the word “pastor” today, you have to address the issue of whether women can be pastors. In our culture, the topic is not one that can be avoided. Instead of appealing to one passage of Scripture as the definitive word on this issue, I’d like to trace a biblical case for the following claim: men are created and called by God to be leaders, especially in the home and in the church. The case for this claim begins not long after the beginning, in Genesis 2. We find that Adam...