A few weeks, ago before the Sunday evening service, we had one of the meetings that I most look forward to—a Pastor’s Prayer Partners fellowship. This is a group of people in our church who have committed to pray with a partner for me, my family, and the ministries of our church. Their commitment and faithfulness is a tremendous blessing and encouragement to me.

I am not excited because I have retired and am looking forward to a stress free life of daily golf. (Those who know me well know that there are few things more stressful to me than trying to hit a golf ball.) I am feeling great because we are following God’s plan for our life in beginning a new ministry that we believe will be every bit as busy and productive as the one we are leaving.

As preachers, our primary responsibility is to herald forth and publish God’s truth. One preacher put it this way, “The business of the prophet is to fill the pulpit, not the pews.”

If the ministry is anything, it is labor. Paul told Timothy, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work” (1 Timothy 3:1). And that is exactly what it is—work.

For some reason, writers and preachers who should know better have said for many years (in one way or another) that a New Testament church runs pretty much as a pure democracy

Relationships are vital to ministry. Whether you are a pastor, a church staff member, or serve as a leader in any area of church ministry, cultivating strong relationships is a necessary investment.

Many of us found that the daily routines we had established in the spring, went out the window on Memorial day. Now that school is back in full swing, it may be wise to step back and assess your daily routines. In our family, we have found that developing morning and evening routines helps us be able to get up at a decent time without stressing over whether or not we have time to prepare for the day.

I hope you’ve seen the pictures. Three-year-old Aylan washed up on the shore, drowned while escaping. Masses of refugees crowding streets under the shells of bombed out buildings. Inflated rafts spilling over with people fleeing war-torn Syria. The seventy-one suffocated bodies found in a refrigerated truck, all victims of human trafficking. Refugee camps stretched out acre upon acre of makeshift tents.

If you’re like me, you’ve read plenty of books and opinions about church growth. People tell you everything from how many songs to have in the service to what types of doughnuts to serve.

It is obvious that our world is confused about what is right and wrong. Of all the places in the world that one would think his faith has value and that he could practice it without fear of intimidation, it would be here in the United States of America.