A Job Description for Lay Elders
You were humbled—and a little surprised—when the pastor asked you to serve as an elder. You prayed about it, talked to your wife, and got the input of a few trusted church members. With a mixture of trepidation and excitement you accepted the nomination, and a few weeks later you were voted into office.
Now you sit at your first elders’ meeting, waiting for things to start. And a nagging thought arises: “Okay, I am an elder. Now what do I do?”
WELL-INTENTIONED BUT ILL-INFORMED
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Elders—The Church’s Lead Disciple-Makers
Are you an elder in your church? Then you should be one of the church’s lead disciplers. You knew that this was a key part of an elder’s job description, right?
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Book Review: The Measure of Our Success
Reviewed by Jeramie Rinne
Shawn Lovejoy loves fellow pastors and desperately wants them to thrive in ministry. But, as he explains in his book The Measure of Our Success, he fears far too many pastors feel discouragement and discontentment instead. The reason for this malaise? Pastors are using the wrong metrics for gauging successful ministry.
A VIEW FROM THE TRENCHES
Reviewed only
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Conversion and Your Church’s Architecture
In 2004, our church building project hit a wall.
Up to that point, our plans to expand the church facility had moved forward slowly but surely. The congregation had approved drawings, voted to build, raised funds, and hired specialists to acquire the necessary building permits. And one by one the town granted our permits, until we came to the Board of Health. In 2004, the Board indicated that our septic system plans would not pass. So we withdrew our application from the town.
GOOD INTENTIONS
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Be a Tortoise, not a Hare
You know the classic fable: The cocky rabbit challenges the other animals to a race. The tortoise accepts, much to the hare’s bemusement. The race begins, and the rabbit dashes ahead—so far ahead, in fact, that he has time to nap. But while the hare sleeps, the tortoise faithfully plods on and crosses the finish line first in a dramatic upset. The moral of the story: Slow and steady wins the race.
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Dear Staff, Sincerely, the Senior Pastor
Several years ago a pastor friend invited me to fill his pulpit. I told him that I would preach a sermon to his church that he couldn’t preach. The title: “How to Love Your Pastor.”
It’s a sermon that church members need to hear, but which most pastors would feel uncomfortable preaching to their own congregations.
Now 9Marks is letting me do it again, except this time I'm writing an article that church staff need. The title: “How to Bless Your Boss.”
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Senior Pastor as Servant’s Servant’s Servant
How can a senior pastor best serve his staff? To answer that,I did the unthinkable: I asked my staff what they needed from me as the senior pastor. Below you will find a few of their responses. Who knew such a simple question would lead to such helpful wisdom for the lead minister?
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For the Church: How Can You Support Parachurch Ministries?
For months, even years, you've heard your pastor preach on the need for Christians to be salt and light in the world. You've listened to expositions of Jesus' command to "go and make disciples of all nations" so many times you could preach it yourself. Your minister has exhorted you from Luke to emulate the Good Samaritan's compassion for the needy, and to avoid the rich man's callousness toward Lazarus in his poverty.
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Staying to the Glory of God: One Preacher’s Death Wish
On September 22, 1967, Dr. Raymond Edman, then retired president of Wheaton College, was preaching at Wheaton’s chapel when he suddenly collapsed and died in the pulpit. Amazingly, his sermon was entitled “In the Presence of the King.” I’ve sometimes thought that if I could choose my end as a pastor, it would be to die in a pulpit like Dr. Edman, proclaiming God’s Word with my last breath.
THIS PREACHER’S DEATH WISH
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