“It’s been a people day,” I said to my daughter many afternoons in her teen years. Although I might have said it because of being exhausted from giving to people all day, it was not a negative statement at all.

In Matthew 18, we are introduced to a shepherd that has lost one sheep and leaves his flock to go find it.

It’s common to human nature—we want surface fixes. Pastors know this from counseling. You meet with someone who has major needs in his life, but all he really wants is a quick fix to the immediate crisis—not the help to deal with the root causes. Pastors are guilty of this too, however.

At Eastland Baptist Church, we have done many creative and innovative things. Each one has been organized and planned with a specific purpose and goal in mind.

Listening and assessing are two characteristics found in wise spiritual leaders. Even as you seek to move forward by faith, you must have an awareness of the current needs surrounding you and in the lives of those you lead.

The story of Crown Point Baptist Church begins with the directive of the Saviour to simply, “Go.” At the age of fifty-four, Pastor Mark Irmler and his family surrendered to the call to start a new independent Baptist church in the city of Simi Valley, California.

The early “infancy period” of the church is fascinating to read about in the book of Acts. In just a few years’ time, local churches of baptized believers were established in dozens of cities in the Mediterranean region.

None of us preach in a vacuum. We live “in this present world” and have been commissioned by God to declare His gospel in it.

The principle or practice of separation has never been popular. It was not popular in ancient Israel, and it certainly is not popular for many Christians today, yet it is a crucial factor in living for God.

A dream without a plan is a wish. So, as a pastor or local church ministry leader, it’s not enough to simply have a dream to make a big impact for Christ in your community and to see many people come to Christ. You need a developed plan.