Pastoral Life, a "how-to" book for pastors, addresses issues in the life of a minister, both the private and public aspects – his family life and church life. This minister's handbook prepares a young minister as he goes "in view of a call" and as he accepts his first pastorate. It offers suggestions for his study time and sermon preparation, as well as conducting various services such as weddings and funerals, baptisms and The Lord's Supper. It...

Pastoral ministry is challenging work, especially when a pastor ignores the church's "congregational culture" when seeking to minister to church members or implement changes. Just as a pastor studies to interpret the Scriptures in order to understand and preach the Bible, he or she must interpret the local church culture to better understand and move it toward accomplishing its mission and vision. In Look Before You Lead, trusted church leadership...

This book presents a thorough examination of the gift of tongues and prophecy, thereby revealing the objective of these gifts and the order of their use. Apostle Paul focuses on the underlying principles that consistently determine the importance of interpreting or explaining unknown tongues. By excelling in these truth, you will be prepared to minister to the specific needs of those God brings into your life. With the help of the Biblical Truth Concerning...

In To Be and To Serve, Deacon William T. Ditewig explores the important topic of identity for permanent deacons by reflecting on the place of deacons within the local community and the universal church. Noting that "it's all about relationships," he takes readers on a journey through church teachings and pastoral realities to highlight the truth that a deacon lives a life totally given over to the Lord and to those whom he is called to serve.

In churches today, there are ever fewer older pastors speaking into the lives of younger leaders, and fewer younger leaders feeling there is much to be learned from the experience of their elders. Street-smart wisdom is gone from training as there are many men and women preparing pastors who have never themselves pastored a church. Intriguingly, even older, more seasoned pastors yearn for insight into their task, as they remain "undiscipled" in the...

Leadership that seeks to be effective must navigate the emotional systems, learning habits, and power dynamics of any community it hopes to serve through seasons of change. When conflict, stagnation, and decline threaten an institution's imagination and sustainability, leaders must be adaptable, self-differentiated, discerning, and liberation-minded if they are going to cast a vision for--and lead the work of--transformation. With experience and practicality,...

This is volume 2 in the Guides to Practical Ministry series edited by a team from the Academy of Parish Clergy and published by Energion Publications. Being in ministry means dealing with change. In fact, living itself means dealing with change. Church leadership, however organized, will have to deal with change. This book looks at the types of change that might occur in ministry and the difficulties involved and presents practical approaches to dealing...

Helps ministers deal with ethical decisions and dilemmas. Answers questions concerning ethics in three featured parts: The basis for Christian Ethics, Scripture, Ethics and Church Doctrine, and Ethics in Practical Ministry.

Pastoral-to-program size change is frequently described as the most challenging of growth transitions for congregations. Now Alban senior consultant Alice Mann, author of “The In-Between Church: Navigating Size Transitions in Congregations”, addresses the difficulties of that transition in this resource designed specifically for a congregational learning team. Conceptualized and developed by Mann for an Alban on-line seminar program test event...

The present 9Marks Journal lays out some of the basics of expositional preaching, as well as a few of the mechanics. If you happen to think that applying the text is the work of the Holy Spirit, start with Michael Lawrence's piece. There's a difference between a preacher's application and the Spirit's conviction, he says. Preaching that doesn't apply the text is not preaching, and the ability to apply the text depends on your knowledge of your church....