One of the items I have required in my pastoral ministry class from the beginning is a sermon by Henry Scougal entitled “On the Importance and Difficulty of the Ministerial Function” (found in The Works of Rev. H. Scougal, ed. By Don Kistler). This time around I required the sermon again but failed to supply …
Continue reading ‘Scougal, on the Gravity of Pastoral Ministry’ »
I am going through some old books and in one book of poems by a Perry Tanksley I came across this poem entitled “A Thousand Miles Away.” It is a negative counterpart to my “Bedtime with My Boys” and a good reminder of the value of reading to and talking with our children. My boys …
I have just read on Tom Ascol’s blog about a publisher of children’s Sunday School curriculum who decided that the cross is too violent for pre-schoolers and as a result they would skip the cross and resurrection in their Easter curriculum! You can see a letter of explanation and defense of their position here. This …
Barry Maxwell is a good friend and thoughtful pastor. I recommend his blog. His most recent post is excellent as he discusses his own struggle with the difference between what the Bible calls us to as pastors and what the current church culture expects of us. This is important, valuable stuff. He also interacts with …
Old books are fun. You never know what gem you might find in what appears to be the most unlikely candidate. So it is always worthwhile taking a look. For example, I recently found a 1917 volume titled, Public School Methods, vol. 4. The title did not sound very promising, but I discovered that the …
I have a number of disagreements with Barth theologically and ethically, but he did often speak truth. This quote from his book Homiletics he expresses well the how essential it is for us to love the people to whom we preach. Without this love it all falls apart. “Preachers must love their congregations. They must …
Continue reading ‘Barth, Preachers Must Love their People’ »
Here is a perceptive, challenging poem for those of us who are in any sort of leadership. I am like James and JohnLord, I size up other people in terms of what they can do for me; how they can further my program, feed my ego, satisfy my needs, give me strategic advantage.I exploit people, …
Peter Adam, Principal of Ridley College in Australia, has a good brief article titled, “Fourteen incontrovertible arguments in favour of Expository Preaching.” This is a good succinct argument for the value of systematic preaching through books. It would probably be useful for handing out to a congregation, or even passing on to a pastor friend. …
Scottish Highland Adventures, by Catherine Mackenzie (Christian Focus, 2007), pb., 91 pp. Ages 6+ This book is part of a series of children’s books about adventures in various areas. We were interested in this one because of our years of living in Scotland. Each chapter deals with a specific area or characteristic of Scotland and …