This is a blog for pastors and ministry leaders. It’s meant to be an open-hearted conversation about things pastors think and feel—hopefully a place to read and say, “Someone else experiences that, too.”

It’s the National Day of Prayer, and our country and its president have never needed our prayers more. Please pray for my friend @GregLaurie, and for his courageous stand in the face of intimidation not to pray before the nation at this event in Washington.

I wanted to wait until we returned from the Holy Land to make my decision public. I am officially announcing my resignation today from a job I have long held, and frequently done very poorly.

My Wednesday post on how the glory of God is the only fire that can sustain evangelistic zeal in local church ministry, may seem a very indirect evangelistic approach to you. If you believe intentional evangelism is what reaches people, you may find it hard to accept what I am writing.

Soteriology is a word that comes from the Greek word soterios, which means “to save.” Doxology comes from the Greek word for glory and names the single stanza hymn. While many have heard the Westminster Confession that “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever,” fewer have understood that doxology [...]

Thank God for Rick and Kay Warren, and for Keith and Beth Moore. Beth says it better than I could, so let this woman of God be heard…”Sadness and Madness“

In John 9, the disciples wanted to debate with Jesus about the source of a man’s blindness—when Jesus saw him much differently. Not as an issue to discuss, but as a person to help. Why do some Christians see everything so differently? Possibly they have become consumers of spiritual content vs. disciples who are not [...]

This is Holy Week. And with the outpouring of ministry that will accompany it among our churches, I want to take a few minutes to encourage my fellow pastors as we prepare for its significance. Visit TheDayJesusDied.com Download the videos Download the devotionals

I love this: “accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). When I was a kid, I memorized this verse in the King James Version as “rightly dividing the word of truth.” Actually, in the original Greek there’s just one word. It’s a compound word that means cut it straight. Don’t you love that [...]

My heart goes out to the family that is in a downward spiral. You know what I mean. Whether they live in the same house or come from the same parents or worship at the same church, ‘families’ can fall into bad patterns that become very hard to break. Where every step forward is quickly [...]

Happy Friday…I’ve been thinking about my mom a lot this week. I think that’s partly because I spoke at Moody Founders Week—she always used to loved to come and hear me there. We also just passed her third birthday in heaven, which was January 31—I’m sure she had an awesome day.

Hey: Sometimes my best movie-watching experience is an old favorite vs. something new—and I think the same can be true about blog posts. Back in July before the Vertical Church Tour, I posted something I hoped would be helpful to pastors facing criticism, from the trenches