One of the great privileges of serving God is that we are laborers together with Him. Sure, He has given us the command to preach the gospel, but He didn’t leave the work entirely up to us. While we find the ears to hear, He is working on hearts.

As much as we wish it wasn’t so, the truth is, all of us have a mean streak. The “works of the flesh” (our flesh) include “hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife” (Galatians 5:19–20). We all have flesh, our flesh is selfish, and the selfishness of our flesh often comes out in meanness.

I often tell parents, “Christian education doesn’t cost—it pays.” I believe this is true, not only for parents, but also for the local church that invests labor in building the Christian school as a ministry of the church.

In 1956, I became the pastor of the Silent Run Baptist Church in Hopkins County, Kentucky. I was a student at Bethel College in Hopkinsville, and my wife and I were the youngest couple in the church. I knew practically nothing about pastoring a church, but I knew that God had called me to preach.

Seth Godin did a study about marketing to Generation Y—today’s teens. The study showed this generation is very selective about who they listen to and that they want to know why before they obey.

You know the traction-gaining tool for social media: hashtags. Whether it’s #WeAreN or #icebucketchallenge, people turn to hashtags to use their Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram posts to make a difference.

Every time I think I have it rough, the Lord causes me to think about Job. I am not sure there was another man who was tried to the breaking point like Job was.

The writer of Hebrews is making a fairly simple point: the way to maturity—solid, biblical maturity—is not becoming an intelligent person but becoming an obedient person.

If you’re like me, not everything on your to-do list or project list gets done. And yet, if you’re like me, it’s vital that certain projects do get done. Of course, the difference in what gets done and what doesn’t get done fundamentally relates to the choices we make in preparation and execution.

Pastor Tavv Shaver planted Evergreen Baptist Church in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. After speaking at the West Coast Baptist College 2014 Church Planting Conference, he spoke with The Baptist Voice about church planting.