Practical Advice for Pastors
Lead through Service · Equip for Ministry · Love God’s People

Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Dean of Students at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson
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I will be adding Theology for Ministry: How Doctrine Affects Pastoral Life and Ministry to my required reading list for students. Twenty-six pastor-theologians, touching upon every major area of ministry, winsomely demonstrate how theology gives shape to a godly pastorate. That this book honors Sinclair Ferguson is especially appropriate — his books, lectures, and sermons mine God’s word and Reformation theology, and set their riches before God’s beloved church. I can think of no better model of ministerial work. Since 2017 Sinclair Ferguson has served as Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.
Read MoreWhere the Children Take Us: How One Family Achieved the Unimaginable by CNN anchor Zain Asher tells the story of her mother Obiajulu, a Nigerian immigrant and widow who worked tirelessly to educate her four children while living in a poor and dangerous London neighborhood. By the time Ms. Asher became a teenager, Obiajulu was determined to see her attend Oxford University, an ultimately successful endeavor. Her siblings excelled, too: one brother won best actor for his role in “12 Years a Slave.” Another brother is a business entrepreneur and her sister a physician. Obiajulu obtained her secondary education during the Biafran conflict, attending makeshift schools during the harrowing years of Nigerian civil war. To call her approach to parenting and education “tough…
Read More[My article in the spring 2022 issue.] Change is your opportunity to grow in grace. We say that it’s hard, but that’s not completely true. Change can be easy when it’s something we’ve hoped for, prayed for, and planned for. Difficulties come when we try to adapt to changes that are unwanted and unmanageable. Remember your trajectory. When you become a Christian, you are marked for change. One of God’s promises to you is that you’ll be transformed over the course of your life to be made more like your Savior. The process of sanctification is both beautiful and painful. Outwardly, the world is changing, exerting pressure that we become like it. Inwardly, the Holy Spirit works to mortify sinful…
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