Over the past several months, I’ve been writing a book for independent Baptist pastors and leaders—The Road Ahead.

This book shares personal midcourse adjustments the Lord has worked in my spirit and ministry philosophy. Particularly, it addresses the needs I see in independent Baptist leaders and churches to look to Jesus and serve with authenticity.

As I travel, I’ve met hundreds of Bible-believing pastors who love God, are faithful to their families, and have a pulpit ministry that is grace-based and Bible-centered. Some of these men have shared with me their concerns about the testimony of Christ and the future of biblical Baptist churches.

As with other institutions, and even other denominations, we serve in a day when the actions and reactions of a few have been broad-brushed over all of us. In these times, it is more vital than ever that we understand our biblical position and allow the Holy Spirit to thoroughly search our lives for imbalances in ministry.

Packaging these thoughts into book form with written steps of action has been a challenge. In fact, I haven’t written a book with more prayer…or a greater passion to clearly communicate. (more…)

There is no doubt that God’s grace is amazing and that His liberty to believers is abundant.

But what happens when we mix the truth of liberty with the spirit of pragmatism?

(If you cannot see this video in your RSS reader or email, you can watch it here.)

We live in a pragmatic age. Our culture’s default mentality is “If it works, it must be right” or “if I like it, I should be allowed to do it.” In many cases, we’ve carried that logic into local church ministry and then defended it by claiming Christian liberty.

I thank God for Christian liberty. I want to give that liberty to others, and I want to receive it from them. But I also want to be discerning enough to consider how my liberty will affect the generations following me. (more…)

Patience is not my strongest virtue. But there are areas in which church leaders cannot afford to be impatient. When it comes to knowing when it is time to begin a new building program, hire a staff member, launch a new ministry, and a hundred other decisions, we need to have the peace of God before moving forward. Especially, we need the presence of God on that part of the journey.

In this growth points video, I point out three provisions we miss without the presence of God.

(If you cannot see this video in your RSS reader or email, you can watch it here.)

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Busy ministry can easily overtake core convictions. When we find ourselves on a perpetual treadmill of activity, it’s wise to pause to remember the early convictions upon which we’ve been building.

In this week’s growth points video, revisit with me two convictions which must be central to the life and ministry of a spiritual leader.

(If you cannot see this video in your RSS reader or email, you can watch it here.)

1. The conviction to maintain personal integrity

We’ve all heard the stories of men whose integrity was sabotaged by their own neglect. Thinking they were doing great things by being busy for God, they became careless with their personal walk with God.

God did not create us as human doings, but as human beings. At it’s core, integrity is developed as we are real with God. This is a matter of personal commitment on our part to walk with the Lord, to walk in His Word, and to walk in honesty. (more…)

Among the blessings of living in the twenty-first century is the ability to easily and quickly share ministry resources.

Over the past few years, our ministry has been able to develop a variety of web sites to provide such resources. But if you’re anything like me, you find a helpful site, download a few resources…and then forget to check back for more.

If you’ve used the sites below in the past but forget to refer to them later, you might consider bookmarking them in your browser. If you’ve never visited these sites, have a look. Everything below is free: (more…)