Several weeks ago, I began recording weekly “Growth Points” video blogs. These videos were initially birthed from a desire to stay in touch with our West Coast Baptist College graduates who are now pastoring and in ministry. But they are also a greeting to our pastor friends and Christian servants around the world.

My heart as a pastor and the president of a Bible college is to mentor and train the next generation for the cause of Christ. Specifically, I want to do it on a personal level. The Growth Points videos are brief and often consist of me simply clicking the “record” button on my computer webcam. They are a quick, often unedited, sharing of what is on my mind and heart. (more…)

Christian hospitality is one of the most fruitful of ministry disciplines. Over the years, my wife and I have made a habit of having people over on a regular basis, and we’ve found that opening our home for fellowship often opens hearts for discipleship and mentoring.

No wonder the New Testament emphasizes hospitality as a Christian grace:

Use hospitality one to another without grudging.—1 Peter 4:9

Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.—Romans 12:13

A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;— 1 Timothy 3:2

But Terrie and I still laugh at one of our early attempts at opening our home. I was teaching a Sunday school class for young married couples, and one Sunday, a visiting couple, the Matthews, attended the class. I met them at the door and learned they had just moved to the area. Eager to encourage them in the Lord and demonstrate hospitality, I invited them to our home for lunch. (more…)

I use a template document for typing my sermon notes. But I guard against a template philosophy in preparing my sermons. My church deserves fresh sermons that are prayed over and thoroughly studied for—not cycled through.

Templates are great for saving time. But they’re not so great for encouraging growth. Sometimes when we think we are working smart, we are actually working lazy.

One of the challenges of ministry—especially as you stay in one place through the years—is maintaining a fresh eye and a commitment to fresh growth. Yes, it is easier and faster to reuse materials, repeat events, and recycle lessons. But it can also be lazy. (more…)

This lesson speaks to the very heart of local church ministry. Jesus Himself came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). But in so many of our churches today, I see pastors fervently reading books and attending conferences, but never really settling in for intentional soulwinning—building the church the way God designed.

If you want to reignite the soulwinning fervor in your church and in your own heart, this lesson is for you. You may not need to read another book or find another conference. You may need to simply take some time with the Lord and ask Him to stir your heart once again with a passion for souls.

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Before and after this lesson, I answer the following in-studio questions: (more…)

One of the first books I received as a college student was Lectures to My Students by Charles Spurgeon. This was the text for my Pastoral Theology class and has been one of my favorites throughout the years. Although I have probably read Spiritual Leadership by Oswald Sanders more than any other book, Lectures to My Students would be at the top of the list of books to which I often refer.

One of the things I appreciate about Lectures to My Students is how clearly it reveals that many of the pressures and challenges of the pastorate have not changed over the last two hundred years. Much of Spurgeon’s advice to young preachers is as relevant today as the advice of anyone currently writing. There are a few areas here and there that Spurgeon addresses (mainly regarding health or issues with the schedule of ministry) that indicates the limited knowledge of the medical field at the time in which he ministered. But overall, this book has been helpful and a friend to me.

Spurgeon speaks about “the minister’s self watch” and the importance of remaining consistent in our walk with the Lord as we serve His people. (more…)