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…)

Sometimes you read an entire book for a single illustration or paragraph. Such was the case for me recently in reading Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp.

The paragraph below is worth the entire book. I urge you to read it slowly:

It is only love for Christ that can defend the heart of the pastor against all the other loves that have the potential to kidnap his ministry. It is only worship of Christ that has the power to protect him from all the seductive idols of ministry that will whisper in his ear. It is only the glory of the risen Christ that will guard him against the self-glory that is a temptation to all who are in ministry and that destroys the ministry of so many. Only Christ can turn an arrogant, “bring on the world” seminary graduate into a patient, humble giver of grace. Only deep gratitude for a suffering Savior can make a man willing to suffer in ministry. It is only a heart that is satisfied in Christ that can be spiritually content in the hardships of ministry. It is only in your brokenness in the face of your sin that you can give grace to the fellow rebels to whom God has called you to minister. It is only when your identity is firmly rooted in Christ that you are free from seeking to get your identity out of your ministry.

Humbling, isn’t it? You may even want to go back and read it again, this time pausing after each sentence to evaluate your own heart.

Do you love Christ? Worship Him? Glory in Him? Thank Him? Find your satisfaction in Him?

Christ is everything.

If you’re anything like me—and most people I meet are in this regard—you’ve shouldered too many burdens that you wish you would have given to the Lord.

Sometimes we forget to give them to the Lord.

Sometimes we just don’t want to let them go.

Sometimes we struggle to know how to give a burden to the Lord.

This fall, I wrote The Burden Bearer: Who’s Carrying Your Load? to remind myself—and hopefully readers as well—that we really can and should cast all our cares upon Him.

This book is a unique project in that it has an allegorical story about Carrier—a Lifter very much like you and me—woven throughout the book.

You can read the first chapter for free, or you can purchase the book in print or as a kindle edition. I pray it is a help and encouragement to you. The chapter titles are as follows: (more…)

If you are in Christian ministry and are looking for a refreshing (yet convicting and challenging) book—and especially if you are a senior pastor—I suggest Replenish by Lance Witt.

When I read this book on my kindle recently, I had eighty-two highlights that filled over eight pages. There were so many truths the Lord used from it to speak to my soul.

We’re all prone to the myth that the best measure of a ministry is the size. But I think as Baptists we are better learning to measure a ministry by its healthinstead. A healthy church will grow, while a growing church may wither and die if it does not have healthy roots.

In a similar way, we need to measure our own lives, not by our productivity (even our spiritual productivity) but by the health of our souls—our walk with God, our relationships with others, our capacity to witness, serve, and love from the heart. Replenish is a book that encourages you to pay attention to the gauges of your soul so you have continued fuel for a lifetime of Christ-exalting ministry. (more…)

Everyone faces pain, fear, and worry; but it seems that Satan especially aims these fiery darts at Christians who are committed to moving forward for God.

This three-in-one volume of John Haggai’s books Winning over Pain, Winning over Fear, and Winning over Worry, was a particular help to me last year.

Full of Scripture and with many personal illustrations, this book shares vital principles for living and serving with the calming, guarding, and sustaining peace of God.

Winning over Pain reminds us of God’s promise to bring good from our pain.

Winning over Fear centers on God’s three-fold antidote for fear found in 2 Timothy 1:7—power, love, and a sound mind.

Winning over Worry, which was the most helpful of the three to me, focuses on the commands in Philippians 4:6–8 to rejoice in the Lord and stay our hearts on Him. (more…)