10 Things to Do with Young Children:

Parenting is easy… said no one ever. Parenting is hard work, but it is the kind of work that is good, rewarding, and joyful. Solomon the Sage displayed his wisdom when he said of children, “Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them” (Psalm 127:5). My wife and I have three kids under the age of 6. Needless to say, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to apply what God says about parenting to our little ones. Here are 10 things to do with your young children in an effort to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4):

1. Tell them about the glory of God.

Tell them who God is. Tell them what He has done. Point to the swimming fish, shooting star, swaying tree, flying bird, ripening strawberry, and show them God’s hand at work. After a recent church service, we walked out of the front doors of our church building with our children to a warm setting sun that left the sky glowing pink and orange. One of the sweet godly ladies in our congregation leaned over and asked our children, “Do you hear what that sun is saying?” Calvin was right, “The whole world is a theatre for the display of the divine goodness, wisdom, justice, and power.”

2. Read the Bible with them.

Don’t withhold the book that is sweeter than honey and drippings from the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10). Give the kids the sugar. Read them the life-giving words of Scripture. Pray that God will give them faith and then speak the Bible to them for “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).

3. Catechize them.

Find a biblically faithful catechism and work through it with your children. A good catechism will help your children think theologically. It will help them construct a worldview that will help them interpret the things going on around them and within them. We ask our 5 year old, “What did God give Adam and Eve besides bodies?” She responds, “He gave them souls that will never die.” We ask, “Have you a soul as well as a body?” She answers, “Yes, I have a soul that will never die.” She is better equipped to face the forthcoming funeral because of the catechism and our conversations that spring from it.

4. Sing with them.

Sing Christ-exalting songs. Sing hymns. Sing made-up songs and pray you have the privilege of hearing them sing their own made up ones. Singing cheers the soul and instructs the mind.

5. Listen to them.

Listen to their long and confusing stories. Don’t be too busy to hear about their day, dislikes, and desires. Let them vent their little heart to you so that when they grow older they won’t be tight-lipped teenagers who won’t share with you because they remember that you didn’t have time to hear about their dreams and disappointments.

6. Confess your sin to them.

Live a life of repentance before your children. Show them that daddy and mommy need the blood of Jesus. Demonstrate what a true and humble confession looks like. I remember taking a knee to look my 3-year-old son in the eye after treating him harshly. I asked his forgiveness and he granted it immediately. I arose walking hand in hand with him, preaching this to myself: Covering your own shortcomings won’t teach him to rely on the Lord.

7. Hug, Kiss, Wrestle, and Dance with them.

Share not only the gospel with your children, but your lives as well (1 Thessalonians 2:8). With little ones, this means intentional down time. We enjoy tussling around the family room floor or dancing in the room before bed. Ride bikes, throw a ball, go to a park. And be mindful that little eyes are watching your every move. Like it or not, “do as I say not as I do” doesn’t play.

8. Discipline them.

The Bible considers discipline a matter of love. Proverbs 13:24 says, “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” Do you love your children? If so, the Bible says you will give attention to their correction and training. I commend Tedd Tripp’s Shepherding a Child’s Heart to consider this topic in more detail.

9. Teach them to love the church.

Point out the many and marvelous examples of sacrificial love in your church. We recently had the church provide many meals for us after having a child. As each member dropped off food we’d ask our kids, “Can you believe that the church would be so kind to us?” We considered with them what might cause our church to love us so. Consider, also, how to encourage your kids to love the Lord’s Day. Look forward with them to the first day of the week. Memorize Psalm 122:1 together and celebrate with David, “I was glad when they said to me ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’”

10. Pray with them.

Prayer is learned. That’s why Jesus answered when the disciples asked him to teach them to pray. Let the children hear you vent your heart before God’s throne. Let them hear your faith-filled petitions for them, your church, and the world. Let them listen to a steady stream of your thanksgiving to the Father for His continual provision in the life of your family.

Press on in the tiresome and treasured work of parenting younger children, remembering, “children are a heritage from the LORD” (Psalm 127:3).

4 Characteristics That Make A Youth Pastor Indispensable:

A recent Gallup poll shows that the average tenure of a youth pastor in the local church is only 18 months. If this is true, that is barely enough time to memorize the names of the students in the program, let alone enough time to have a long-lasting impact on the community that the youth pastor served. Surely, the quick turnaround of youth workers is a result of multiple factors. Sometimes they leave because they choose to, while others leave because they are asked to. Either way, I am fully convinced that each leader should do everything in their power to make themselves an indispensable part of the local church they serve. What I have noticed after years of ministry is that there are specific characteristics that long tenure youth workers display that the more nomadic bunch simply do not.

So how do you make yourself indispensable in the youth room in which you serve?

What attitudes should you be developing to leave a long-term impact on the students you serve? How do you become one of the long tenure youth workers?

Here are four characteristics that will ensure your ministry shelf life will be longer than 18 months.

The real keepers don’t engage in negative talk

Like any work place, the church is led by people. Like anything that is led by people, it is flawed and therefore can give way to frustration. When frustration arises, we are all given a choice of how we will handle it. It is easy to slide into constant critique, building bitterness. There are appropriate places to voice your concerns and complaints but that place is not with every co-worker who will listen.

Negative talk is like an organizational cancer and it spreads quickly. Instead of engaging with it, you should be the one to kill it. Real keepers in student ministry are the ones who keep their talk positive and uplifting. Churches can’t afford to lose people like that.

The real keepers are quick to compliment others

Everyone likes to receive praise for the hard work they put forth, but our egos can take over and want to keep that praise all to ourselves. Some wrongly assume that when others receive accolades it means that there is ultimately less for them.

The kind of youth pastors that churches want on their team are the ones who look for reasons to compliment the work of others around them without fear that it diminishes their own value. On the contrary, the one who dishes out praise to others will see their value on the team continually rise.

The real keepers are diligent about growing

No youth worker has arrived. Not one of us has fully reached our final potential. It is important to be constantly growing and becoming a healthier, more whole person. The kind of youth worker that churches want serving their families are ones who are fully aware that they have room to grow and take the necessary steps to improve. Whether it is having a dedicated prayer life, a disciplined habit of studying scripture, a hunger to read, an intentional mentor relationship or a desire to listen to podcasts, there are practical ways to reach new levels of spiritual maturity.

The real keepers are those humble enough to know they don’t know everything and are confident enough to keep learning.

The real keepers are people of conviction

Youth culture is constantly shifting and changing. What is thought to be funny, safe, acceptable and good has a way of evolving over time. It is easy for youth pastors to get caught up in the shifting sands and be swayed by the culture around them. The real keepers are the ones who are steady and have deep convictions about what is true and what is real. They draw their convictions from the scriptures and they teach and preach a counter cultural message without shame.

It’s time that the tenure of the youth pastor expands to longer than 18 months. Perhaps the best way to make this a reality is to make sure you are a real keeper so that your church sees you as indispensable.

What Happy People Do Differently:

I recently stumbled upon a list of the things happy people do differently. I was intrigued to hear their secret. Interestingly, it wasn’t the typical “self-help,” pep-talk kind of advice you might expect. In fact, it sounded more than a little familiar. Several of these secular secrets to happiness look a lot like the Creator’s blueprint for holiness. Maybe that’s because His commandments are not burdensome and His words really will bring joy to our hearts! (Ps. 19:8, 1 Jn 5:23) In fact, following Jesus is the secret to a happy life. So here it is: the happiness list – with a biblical twist!

Don’t hold grudges.

Unforgiveness saps our souls of strength. In fact, in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian believers, he actually connects unforgiveness with giving place to Satan’s schemes against our lives (2 Cor. 2:8-11). Matthew 6:14-15 says that whether or not we forgive others will prove whether we have really been forgiven. Not holding a grudge can be serious soul-work requiring regular maintenance. “We need to bear with each other, forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do” (Col. 3:13) Is there anyone in your life that you need to forgive? Is there something that gets your blood boiling just thinking about it? Choosing to forgive and release a grudge and leaving the judgment to God is a sure way to start experiencing a happier life!

Treat everyone with kindness.

Ephesians 4:32: And be kind and tenderhearted to each other. We might think to be a strong person looks like giving others a “piece of our mind” when we’re snubbed or stepped on, but, 1 Peter 1:7 describes kindness is a sign of true maturity in Christ. Fashion comes and goes but kindness will never go out of style for a man/woman of God. (Prov. 19:22)

Express gratitude for what you already have.

God has some pretty strong words about longing for something that isn’t ours. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘”I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Funny how God connects our tendency toward covetousness with the reality of His presence isn’t it? I think He wants us to be so rock-solid confident in the truth that, if he’s with us, we have and will have everything we truly need. Jesus warned us against being preoccupied with acquiring more and more things: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Lk 12:15) When we quit spinning our wheels in pursuit of the next big thing, we’ll find a big puzzle piece of personal happiness fall into place.

Speak well of others.

Not only do our words have the power of life and death (Prov. 18:21), but also they often have a way of coming back to us! God makes a connection between what we speak and the state of our hearts. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”  Our words impart, or give, grace when they come from hearts that overflow with grace.

Get absorbed into the present.

It’s hard to live in the present when we focus on the past. We’ve all got a rear-view mirror that can keep us from moving forward when we’re stuck looking through it.  Living in the past robs us of the present. He wants us to live in the certainty of God’s forgiveness for the past, not live life looking through the rear-view mirror. 1 John 1:9 assures us that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” A.W. Tozer once said, “God fully expects us not only to confess our sins but also to walk in the glow of God’s forgiveness.” With our past covered, and our present empowered, we can rest in the promise a secured future. Living in the present also means not being absorbed with the worries of tomorrow: “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Lk 12:25). Living in the present, with a forgiven past, and secured future, will definitely lead to a happier life.

Choose friends wisely.

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” (Prov 27:17) It matters who our friends are. While we should always be cultivating relationships with people who need to know Jesus, your true friends are the people you identify with. First Corinthians 15:33 warns, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’” Our friends inevitably affect our life’s direction. “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” (Prov. 13:20)

Meditate.

Scripture tells us to meditate upon the Word of God (Ps.119:15). Now I definitely don’t mean the kind of mediation that involves emptying your mind. Instead, we are to direct our thoughts to meditate on whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and praiseworthy. (Phil 4:8) Whatever we dwell on transforms us (2 Cor. 3:18). We are changed by what we focus on.

Tell the truth.

What a weight is lifted off of us when we simply tell the truth! Ephesians 4:25 says, “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” Telling the truth means choosing to live as the new creations are we in Christ. “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.” (Col. 3:9)

Live minimally.

Whether it’s the newest iPhone or yet another outfi, we probably all have items or spending habits that could be cut. 1 Timothy 6:6 tells us that godliness with contentment is great gain. Is there an area of life where the amount of time and money you have to invest in it is more draining than it’s worth? Living with greater simplicity keeps us detached from the fleeting stuff of the everyday world and attached to what will endure long after our own lives. It’s easier said than done – and very hard to remember when you walk by a good shoe sale, I know! But chances are, living minimally would help us zero in on the Lord, His Word, and other people. And that is definitely a great secret to a happy life!

Accept what cannot be changed.

There are some circumstances and people we’ll just never be able to change…a demanding boss, the consequences of a bad financial move, an uneasily pleased mother-in-law. But we have a promise that, if we really believe it for what it says, will change our focus on all of those frustrations. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28) Do you realize that when God said that, He knew every situation that you’d be needing that promise for? It may not be that He works all things together quickly or easily, and in His mercy, He may allow us to endure the effects of negative things that have happened. But one thing is absolutely for sure: He will work it out for good –for your good!

Of course, none of these things can be lived out apart from being reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1, 8:13). The truly happy life is the life full of His unshakable joy, a joy that comes from knowing we have peace with God through Jesus’ substituted life, death, and resurrection on our behalf. He wants you to live in the freedom of truth and integrity. Knowing and following Jesus is the secret to a truly happy life.

A Great Commission Church:

"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'" – Matthew 28:18-20

The Great Commission is the mission of the church. Christ commands us to make disciples by proclaiming the gospel and calling the lost to trust the crucified and risen Savior for salvation. We also are to make disciples of Christ through water baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then, we mature disciples in the faith in Christ by teaching them to obey all the Lord commands of us. This commission to make disciples of all nations is the life, work, and aim of the church. Faithful Christians make disciples. Faithful pastors make disciples. Faithful churches make disciples.

What does it mean for a church to be on mission for Christ?

Here are ten commitments of a Great Commission church:

Christ-exalting worship. Jesus declared, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). This is a claim, not a commission. Yet this audacious claim is essential to the Great Commission. If verse 18 is not true, verses 19-20 are meaningless. The Great Commission is a fool’s errand if we seek to make disciples without divine authority. We must be on mission with confidence that Christ reigns over all places and all peoples. Therefore, disciple-making churches are worshiping churches. The sovereignty authority of Christ is our spiritual power for ministry. Before we go out, we must look up in reverent, submissive, joyful worship of the supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Personal Evangelism. There is only one imperative in the Great Commission: Jesus commands us to make disciples. This is the singular mission of the church. The disciple-making process begins with evangelism. Disciples are made through saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Saving faith comes in response to gospel witness. Evangelism and discipleship are not rivals; we do not choose one over the other. A disciple-making church is a soul-winning church. Sheep-stealing, saint-swapping, and membership-transfers do not accomplish the mission of the church. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). As ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20-21), we must get the gospel right and get the gospel out.

World Missions. The Great Commission is a call to evangelism, but this evangelistic mandate is not limited to our relatives, friends, coworkers, and atssociates. Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). This mission is as small as your neighborhood and as large as the more than seven billion people on planet earth. Your community needs the gospel. So does every community in the world. The one who has all authority deserves and demands to be worship by all nations. Great Commission churches pray, give, go to reach the unreached people groups of the world with the saving message of Jesus Christ. They are going churches for a coming Christ!

Ethnic Harmony. The command to make disciples of all nations is not just a call to world missions; it is also a call to ethnic harmony. You cannot be a Great Commission church without respecting the dignity of all peoples. The ground is level at the foot of the cross; therefore, all who trust Christ for salvation become our brothers and sisters, regardless of gender, status, or ethnicity (Galatians 3:27-28). Racial reconciliation is embedded in gospel mission. By his death on the cross, Christ has redeemed a people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation (Revelation 5:9-10). A church that is committed to the Great Commission will seek to reflect the multi-ethnic redemption of Christ in its worship, work, and witness.

Biblical Ordinances. Many churches are consumed with new and novel strategies for making disciples, but the Great Commission keeps the process simple. We make disciples by baptizing and teaching. Baptism is not man-made tradition the disciple may reject as his own discretion. Jesus commands the church to mark disciples by water baptism in the name of the holy Trinity. Baptism is a Christian act of civil disobedience. In baptism, we pledge our allegiance to Christ and the church. Baptism does not save, but it is the first act of obedience Christ commands of those who are saved. The ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are symbols of salvation the church practices as silence lessons about what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

The Local Church. A commitment to the Great Commission requires a high view of the church. We make disciples by leading lost people to trust the finished work of Christ for salvation. Once we bring them to Jesus, we are to bring them to the church. Disciples publicly declare their faith in Jesus through baptism. Water baptism identifies the believer with Christ and the church. Disciple are not to baptize themselves; baptism is an act of the church that affirms the profession of faith of the new believer. Likewise, disciples are not to teach themselves. Of course, personal Bible intake is essential for spiritual growth, but disciples are to submit to other disciples to teach them to observe all that Christ commands. This happens through the local church.

Biblical Teaching. Baptism is a one-time rite of initiation, but this event is not the end of the disciple-making process. It is only the beginning of a lifelong process that involves teaching them to observe all that Christ has commanded us. Man-centered worship services, a therapeutic preaching emphasis, and pragmatic ministry philosophies may draw large crowds, but these things will not make disciples. A disciple-making church is a teaching church. We are to teach all that Christ has commanded. This requires that a church that is sound, faithful, courageous, balanced, and systematic. The goal of our teaching must be transformation, not merely information. We are to teach disciples to observe, practice, and obey all that commands of Christ (James 1:22).

Lordship Salvation. Sinners are saved by grace through faith in Christ, plus or minus nothing. But the proof of faith is obedience. “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,” Jesus asks, “and do not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46) It is a misunderstanding of the gospel to think that one may trust Christ for salvation without submitting to Christ as Lord. Paul writes, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). You can't come to Jesus for forgiveness of sin and decide later if you will submit to his authority. The one who saves is Lord! You do not get a vote on that. A Great Commission church teaches disciples to submit to the Lordship of Christ.

Christian Fellowship. A commitment to the Great Commission requires a commitment to Christ and to one another. It necessitates Christ-centered, gospel-driven fellowship. Jesus issued the commission to a group, not to an individual. In a real sense, they were to go together. Baptism declares one’s commitment to Christ and his blood-bought people and the teaching process is about more than learning a subject matter. The disciple-making process is life-upon-life. Disciples are to teach other disciples to live in obedience to Christ. Jesus did not teach his disciples in a classroom setting; he taught them as they did life together. A church that makes Christian disciples is a church that prioritizes Christian fellowship.

Spirit-Infilling. Jesus asserts, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The omnipotent one of verse 18 is the omnipresent one of verse 20, but this is more than an affirmation that Christ is everywhere. It is a personal and perpetual promise of Christ’s presence with us. This is possible through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The disciples were commanded to witness for Christ after they received power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). By the indwelling presence and power of the Spirit, these frightened disciples became bold witnesses. Likewise, we cannot fulfill the Great Commission in our own wisdom, strength, and resources. The human spirit fails unless the Holy Spirit fills (Ephesians 5:18).

I desire FBC Stanelyville to be a Great Commission church. Do you? Will you join me in helping to make this a reality?

Tough Questions: Are Sundays Good for Babies?

Guest Blogger: Megan Hill

“Sundays are hard for babies,” a church member said sympathetically as she handed back my crying daughter. It’s a truth universally acknowledged. On Sundays, the carefully orchestrated nap schedule of the other six days bends and then snaps under the constraints of morning and evening worship. On Sundays, the quiet interactions of family life fade below the noise of an entire congregation. On Sundays, handfuls of Cheerios bridge the gap between one delayed meal and another. On Sundays, things are different.

The weekly interruption of Sunday often leaves Christian parents discouraged and fatigued. Carrying our fussy littles ones to the minivan after worship, we wonder if Sundays are good for children. It can seem much easier to stay home and stick to the usual routine.

Of course, we ought to have compassion on our children every day of their lives. We recognize that they are weak, and we meet their physical and emotional needs with love and mercy. We remember to bring those Cheerios and that comforting scrap of tattered blanket. But we cannot escape the fact that on Sundays, everything is different. And that’s actually a good thing.

If the Lord has called this day blessed (Ex. 20:11) and has made it for our good (Mark 2:27) then we can rejoice in it, not only for ourselves but also for our little ones. The day that comes with proscriptions and provisions for sons and daughters, employers and employees, animals and guests, comes with blessing for babies too. On Sundays, the Lord teaches us—even the youngest of us—something about himself and his grace.

God Is the Lord of Time

On Sundays, we acknowledge that God is the author and ruler of time itself. At creation, God made time. He separated light from dark and established the daily cycle of morning and evening (Gen. 1:3–5). At creation, God also organized those days into a pattern of six and one (Gen. 2:1–3): six days for ordinary work and recreation, one day for rest (Ex. 20:11).

Once a week, the Lord breaks into our routine and reminds us that naptimes and snacktimes are not ultimate.

As tempting as it might seem to believe we are masters of our own time—carefully manipulating an interlocking puzzle of Google calendar entries—we are not. God is the one who created time, who set us in it and bound us by it, and God is the one who rightfully directs us how to use it. When we submit to his pattern of six and one, we acknowledge that God is the Lord of time.

For our children, too, the disruption of Sunday is a chance to remember that even our schedules are under the Lord’s authority. Once a week, the Lord breaks into our routine and reminds us that naptimes and snacktimes are not ultimate, nor are they determined by our own desires. In all things, we serve the Lord.

God’s People Are a Corporate People

On Sundays, we affirm that God’s people are a corporate people. We are not lone disciples, following Christ on a solitary path to holiness and heaven. We are a church. Christ came to redeem and perfect his whole body (Eph. 4:1–16). When we gather as the church, we remember that we who belong to Christ also belong to the body of which he is the head.

On Sundays, silence gives way to congregational singing, solitude disappears in a crowd of faces, and the Word read in private rings out as the Word preached in public. For our children, Sundays are filled with new sounds, new smells, and new people. This is an opportunity to learn that God is not merely the Lord of individuals or families, but he is the Lord of a vast multitude of people—so many people that not even a grown-up could count them all (Rev. 7:9). To little ones, the gathered church seems overwhelmingly huge. From the perspective of eternity, it is.

Rest Better than Sleep, Food Better than Lunch

Sundays are given to us as a day of rest—a reminder of God’s rest at creation and a foretaste of the saints’ everlasting rest in heaven. But the Lord’s Day rest is not simply an extended afternoon nap. True rest is found in pausing from our ordinary work and, as the Westminster Confession explains it, engaging in “the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.” In those activities, we recharge our souls. On Sundays, God gives us a rest even better than sleep.

Sundays are also a day of feasting. The Puritans used to call the Lord’s Day “the market-day of the soul.” Just as a market boasts tables overflowing with nutritious meat and bread and produce, the Lord’s Day offers sweet and nourishing supplies for our soul. When we gather to worship the Lord in the assembly of the saints, we learn from his Word and grow in our love for him.

All of this is good news for little children. Sundays may mean disrupted naps and delayed meals, but our children are trading earthly provision for something far better for their undying souls. On Sundays, everything is rearranged so that they might hear the Word proclaimed in the power of the Spirit. On Sundays, every ordinary thing takes a lesser place in favor of “the one thing necessary” (Luke 10:42).

I often wonder about those children whose parents brought them to Jesus so he could pray for them (Matt. 19:13–15). Probably some had to miss their naps and eat a later lunch. They may have been fussy and overstimulated by the crowds. But for the rest of their lives, they would know that Mommy and Daddy brought them to Jesus. For the rest of their lives, they would be changed because the Lord took them in his arms and interceded for their souls.

Every Sunday, Christian parents have an opportunity to bring their little ones to Jesus. It might be disruptive. But that’s a good thing.

Five Essential Aspects of Pastoral Ministry:

Whole books have been written on pastoral ministry; so, even an attempt at summarizing it in a short blog post will fall short of the mark. But I would suggest that several principles rise to a high level of importance when considering the subject of pastoral ministry. Much of what passes for pastoral ministry today is nothing other than the philosophies and methods of corporate America pressed down upon the church. Too many pastors think of themselves as “doing their jobs,” and they don’t think of themselves as God’s men who are called to a whole-life pastoral ministry among God’s beloved people. Consider the following five aspects of biblical pastoral ministry.

1. A Pastor Watches Himself

True pastoring always begins with personal holiness. In 1 Timothy 4:16, Paul tells Timothy “Keep a close watch on yourself.” The word “watch” means “to be vigilant” or “to pay close attention.” A pastor needs to give careful attention to his own soul because he is called to be a holy man. He’s a student of the streams of sin as they run inside of his own heart. And he learns to apply the gospel of grace for the mortification of his sin. He must be a man who knows the great love of Christ for him, whose heart is conquered by a crucified and risen Savior, and whose hope is everlasting life in Him.  Because of Christ’s love, a pastor is faithfully committed to prayerful personal communion with Him, and he prays for his family, the church, his community, and the world. He learns to repent quickly of sin, and he’s deeply devoted to studying Scripture and to keeping God’s good commandments as an expression of his love for Christ.

A pastor also watches himself by being a faithful husband to his wife and father to his children, loving them and serving them just as Christ has served him. He loves and teaches his wife and children the Word of God. And he’s involved in his family life, sharing life with his wife, enjoying his children and taking sincere interest in them. Faithful pastors watch themselves.

Only when a pastor faithfully watches himself is he able to watch others faithfully.

2. A Pastor Watches His Teaching

In 1 Timothy 4:16, Paul tells Timothy, “keep a close watch … on the teaching.” There is a heresy made for every one of us. Heresy is a form of false teaching that undermines the gospel. Sadly, there is a heresy made for every pastor. Heresies tell us that we can have our idols, and we can have Jesus too. Some heresies puff us up in self-righteous religious pride, while other heresies promote sensual worldliness. Pastors can be tempted to adopt forms of false teaching that serve themselves rather than Christ and His people. Even when a pastor begins with good doctrine, he can drift into error over time, if he is not very careful to watch his teaching.

A pastor must be very careful to teach what the Bible says is true, not what he wants the Bible to say is true. He is responsible to repeat what God says in His Word. A pastor simply delivers what he has received, adding nothing, subtracting nothing. That means a pastor studies the Bible carefully and holds fast the word of life for his own soul and for the souls of others by faith. God’s beloved people are only fed when pastors proclaim sound doctrine clearly and consistently, even though it will cost them their idols, and it may cost them their very lives.

3. A Pastor Preaches Jesus Christ

In 1 Corinthians 2:2. Paul says, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Like Paul, pastors must never tire of preaching Jesus. Pastors do not preach the words of men. They do not preach themselves. They do not preach their own wisdom or man-made techniques. They preach Christ and Him crucified. Jesus Himself is the very heart of our message. All the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus. Christ is all.

Some teachers insist that it’s impossible to preach Christ from every passage of the Scriptures. They say, “Not every passage is about Jesus. We should only preach Christ when He is explicitly mentioned in the text, or when there is somehow a clear connection to Christ from a particular passage.” But I want to respond briefly to that error in three ways.

First, Jesus preached Himself in all the Scriptures. Luke 24:27 says, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” If Christ preached Himself from all the Scriptures, then so should we.

Second, the Bible’s covenant theology is centered on Jesus. Scripture teaches that there is only one covenant, or promise of grace, running through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation (Heb 9:15-16).  Therefore, the only way to faithfully interpret any particular passage of the Bible is in light of the overarching promise of redemption for sinners in Jesus Christ.

Third, the goal of preaching is worship. If a pastor merely explains a text and doesn’t hold forth Christ, then the church cannot worship, or if it does worship, it does so in spite of the sermon. It’s impossible for the church to worship, unless it is set upon Jesus, who is the chief revelation of God to men. We need to see God in the face of Jesus by the Spirit speaking in His Word if we are to worship. Unless the preacher shows how Christ is at the center of every text, then he will fail to lead the congregation to worship.

What happens when Christ is faithfully preached week in and week out? Jesus Himself encourages the fainthearted, admonishes the obstinate, and gives strength of faith and obedience to all who belong to Him. Jesus begins to form His people after His image, more and more, and they begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit and keep the Ten Commandments as the very definition of what it means to love God and love men. And when Christ is preached every week, Jesus prepares His people for sufferings and trials in their lives. The whole church’s eyes are set upon the things above, where Christ is, and they don’t love this world too much. And more and more, the church is able to say with Paul, “To live is Christ, but to die is gain.”

4. A Pastor Does Personal Work

Pastors are to love God’s people personally. Personal work includes conversations with people at church, pastoral counseling, visiting hospitals, performing funerals, officiating weddings, living among people in the community, and being generally available.

Some popular preachers and teachers today say that pastors shouldn’t waste their time doing personal work. They say a pastor’s job is to pray, study, preach the Word, and nothing else. A pastor’s work is public, not private, they say. But this is a very serious error.

Consider the many places in Scripture that show examples of personal work in pastoral ministry. Jesus ministered personally. He ministered personally to Nicodemus, to the woman at the well, to Zaccheus, to the Roman Centurion, to Mary and Martha, and to many others. He ministered at funerals, weddings, visited the sick, and He counseled people individually. Jesus also ate with His disciples, fished with them, slept with them, and lived life with them. Acts 20:27 tells us that Paul ministered the Word publicly but also house to house at Ephesus. Paul wrote a very personal letter to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus. Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:3 to “instruct certain men.” Personal pastoral work is found all throughout the New Testament.

Personal work is important because much of a pastor’s power in public teaching and preaching depends on the good will and the relationships he has with the people. People are willing to listen to a man when they know he cares for their souls. His preaching will become more and more useful to the people the more he learns who they are so that he can apply the Word to them wisely. Some parts of pastoral ministry absolutely require personal work. When people lose loved ones, or are going though severe trial, they need a pastor to help them think clearly and to set their minds on the Lord Jesus. When people are struggling with personal sin or temptation, or marriage difficulties, they need pastoral counsel about how to handle their sin wisely. When people have specific questions about the Bible or doctrine, or personal decisions that they are making in their lives, they need to feel free to approach their pastor to ask him personally.

Much of the power of true pastoral ministry depends greatly on a pastor’s faithfulness to do personal work.

5. A Pastor Ministers to the Community

A faithful pastor is not merely concerned with his own church. He thinks of the lost people in the community as in Adam, under the condemnation of the covenant of works. They need the mercy of Christ in the covenant of grace. He’s not cold to unbelievers in the community, but thinks of them as souls in need of a Savior. He also thinks of the other believers in the community as part of the one covenant of grace, and he sees himself and his church as joined together with them in Christ in the kingdom of God. Consider that Jesus ministered to the community throughout His life. The book of Acts shows how the Apostles and the church ministered to the community. And in 1 Timothy 3:7, Paul says that one qualification of a pastor is that he is to have a “good reputation with outsiders.” How can he have a good reputation with outsiders, if no outsiders know him?

Practically, what does ministry to the community look like? It looks like participating in community events. It means being available for funerals and counseling for people in the community when asked. Getting to know people through regular business dealings with them. And getting to know other pastors and working with other churches where ever that is possible.

Pastoral ministry is both public and private. It’s based on sound doctrine, rooted in personal holiness, and centered on the Lord Jesus Christ. Pastoral work is both formal and informal, involving a whole man who seeks to minister to whole men. Pastors who are faithful and called of God have the most joyful and sanctifying calling in this world. May God give the church more faithful pastors for His great glory.

3 Things To Tell Your Children About Gender:

A semi-popular YouTube video opens with a young person who is either a feminized man or a masculinized woman. The voice is hard to place; is it a man speaking in a womanly voice, or the reverse? The speaker says people constantly ask, “Are you a boy or a girl?” The answer:

No . . . I am non-binary. . . . Gender is in the brain. Physical sex is a completely separate and different thing. . . . Gender is what you feel, not what your “parts” are—it doesn’t matter what meat skeleton you’ve been born in, it’s what you feel that defines you.

The video follows a social trend many might prefer to ignore. But two realities make that strategy ill-advised . First, a biological male who looks and acts like a male in every regard can expect to be treated like a woman in many states—if he simply says “I am a woman.” In many places, laws protecting people regarding sexual orientation and gender identity (“SOGI”) rely solely on self-definition. A man can call himself a woman and freely use women’s facilities. Second, many schools promote gender fluidity both early and also late in the curriculum, potentially causing confusion in elementary-school children and teens.

Because the transgender issue is a cultural wave, we shouldn’t ignore it.

Tennis champion Martina Navratilova was recently lambasted as transphobic because she said trans men cheat if they compete in athletics as women. Navratilova is an expert on the topic, having won many titles competing with and against men in mixed doubles. As a declared lesbian, she is an unlikely target. But the trans community is quick to criticize those who question its ideology.

This short article cannot address every transgender issue, but I seek to equip parents to talk to their children about gender. It is vital to offer compassion and care to all who experience body dysphoria—the sense that they inhabit the wrong body.

Here are three great truths that can help parents discuss gender with their children.

1. God is the Creator, and he chose to create humanity male and female.  

Genesis 1 says: “God created man in his own image . . . male and female he created them. . . . And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth’” (Gen. 1:27–28; Gen. 5:2). Jesus reaffirms this text in Matthew 19:4: “He who created them from the beginning made them male and female.”

The term “gender” can be defined in several ways. Some call gender the social and cultural (rather than biological) aspects of being male or female. Or gender is a person’s awareness of his or her sexual identity. But it is better to say that sex is a biological reality, and gender is the way we express that reality in society. That is, people are male or female—and societies expect people to show which they are. (About 1,000 people are born “intersex” each year. Still, genetically and chromosomally they are either xx or xy. There is also Klinefelter syndrome, wherein a few people who appear to be ordinary males have 47 chromosomes, and are xxy or xxxy. Like all who are born with genetic abnormalities, we must offer care and compassion.)

Because of sin, each society expresses gender in harmful ways; and because of common grace, each society expresses gender in helpful ways. Gender is grounded both in biology (the created order) and also in culture. Therefore, some aspects of gender are objective physical realities, and some aspects of gender are socially constructed.

Activities like giving birth and nursing are creational, not social. Reproduction is basic to how God designed us. People are male or female in every cell of the body, in both nerves and hormones—not in the reproductive organs alone.

Yet elements of gender are socially constructed. In America, professional men often wear ties; professional women usually do not. This is arbitrary, socially constructed. Ties were invented around 1860, so no one signified gender through ties until recently.

Similarly, Americans have agreed, somehow, that women cook inside the house, while men cook outside. And when they do cook outside, it gets a different name—grilling. This too is arbitrary. Perhaps it makes sense for men, who tend to be larger and stronger, to dominate construction projects, but women can be as adept as men at most physical skills.

We do everyone a favor if we recognize that many cultural norms are just that—cultural, not biblical.

Today, many assume that boys like the outdoors, while girls like the indoors; that boys like collision sports, and girls do not. There are tendencies in those directions, but innumerable girls like to wade streams and climb mountains. They love sports like soccer and ultimate frisbee where people collide. There’s nothing wrong with such girls. Nor is there anything wrong with boys who like to cook. Let’s not cause needless doubts by imposing purely cultural ideals on our children.

That said, we distinguish roles and clothes: It’s normal for boys to act like their fathers and for girls to act like their mothers. It’s also good for men and women to signal, by their appearance and actions, that they are indeed male or female, understanding that various cultures have varying signals. This principle is reflected in Deuteronomy 22:5: “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.”

2. Your body is a gift, not a problem.

Parents, help your children appreciate that they are fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14). Tell and show them that God enables their bodies to do marvelous things. We can run and shout. We can be still. We can dance, sway, and sing. Parents, let your children see you performing acts of dexterity and skill—making music, juggling and drawing, throwing and catching, making and fixing.

I suspect the love/hate relationship many Americans have with their bodies has contributed greatly to the transgender movement. We idolize perfect bodies, and we diet and exercise to form them. But food is everywhere, and most of us lead sedentary lives. High standards coupled with high failure rates creates high dissatisfaction. Tragic results include cutting, anorexia, and binge eating. The problem keeps growing and has spread from women to men.

I suspect the love/hate relationship many Americans have with their bodies has contributed greatly to the transgender movement.

Ryan Anderson describes the historical roots of the transgender movement in When Harry Became Sally, showing that radical feminists sought to sever the link between gender and biology. For them, the body is a problem; it enslaves women to reproduction and lactation and keeps them from asserting and defining themselves. A few feminists hoped to “seize control of reproduction” and end “the sex distinction itself” until “genital differences . . . no longer matter.” These radicals (not most feminists) claim that a woman’s body “opposes her existence as a person,” so she must resist it. Even if their program never became popular, the body-is-a-problem mentality has influenced Western culture.

To be sure, fallen bodies have many flaws, including genetic disorders and diseases. We must extend compassion and care to all who experience severe problems. But our bodies are God’s good gift, and there is a direct and positive relationship between our bodies and our identities as male and female. Wise parents help their children view their bodies as a gift.

3. Discover who you are within God’s providential gifts, including your body.

Parents can tell their children that God has chosen to shape us through genetics. We can “find ourselves” in our God-given gender, just as we “find ourselves” in a genetic heritage that includes height, weight, strength, and more.

These matters, like our sexual identity, are elements of God’s providence.

Tapping into Authenticity

Since the 1950s, Western culture has extolled authenticity, which requires one to live according to the genius of one’s inner being, not the demands of society or family. Authentic people choose their path and reject the roles ascribed to them. The transgender movement taps into the current zest for self-definition. Our culture constantly tells us to “Follow your heart” to find our identity by looking within. The Bible never says, “Follow your heart.” In fact, Jeremiah 17:9 makes it plain: “The heart is deceitful.”

It is good, not evil, to find our place in the world through the body God gives us.

True, we may question roles that family and society have thrust upon us. Yet it is good, not evil, to find our place in the world through the body God gives us. If we believe in the sovereignty and goodness of God, we tell our children this truth applies to them.

Arguments for God's Existence:

Four extra-biblical arguments for God's existence:

1. The concept of God [The Ontological argument ].

Why do the vast majority of cultures have a concept of God and morality? How do we account for the inherent knowledge of God? Some have suggested that this vast knowledge of God is due to a "God-shaped vacuum" in the human heart. The Apostle Paul would say that this is true because God as revealed Himself to us [Romans 2:18-22]

2. The origin of Matter [The Cosmological argument].

One absolute scientific reality is that everything comes from something. Charles Ryrie writes, “If something now exist [the cosmos] then it either came from nothing or it came from something that pre-existed.” [“Basic Theology,” Ryrie, 29] Maybe a picture can clarify this argument.

                    Cause              Effect

Option one:  Nothing           the world

Option two: Something       the world

Incidentally, which of those two options requires more faith? If we use observable science as our standard of proof then we must conclude that everything we see in the natural world indicates that everything has an antecedent. And God is the ultimate something that precedes everything.

3. The evidence of design [The Teleological argument].

Our world is full of complexity. And within that complexity we find incredible order. Logic tells us that order and design in the universe point us to a designer. Ryrie adds, "Random action could never have produced the highly integrated organization which we observe in the world." [31]

Consider a pack of toothpicks. They lay in order within the box. Suppose I place a firecracker in the box and set it off. What is the probability that that explosion will create a toothpick bridge? ZERO! Order does not result from chaos. Instead, design points to a designer.

4. The uniqueness of humans [The Anthropological argument)

Humans differ from the whole of creation in that we possess intellect, moral judgment, self-awareness and the knowledge of God. How can we honestly explain the differences without acknowledging a God of like being? Consider our moral conscience. Animals don't have a moral objection to stealing or killing. We do. Consider our intellect. How can we possibly suggest that our minds have evolved beyond all animal species when dolphins possess echolocation?

Those are philosophical arguments, but is there any concrete proof that: [1] God exists, [2] the God of the Bible is the real God, and [3] Jesus is truly the Son of God? ABSOLUTELY.

C. One indisputable historical evidence: The Resurrection of Christ 

The resurrection validates and proves the existence of God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. Ultimately, Christianity rises or falls on the reality of the resurrection.

In April 2002, the well-respected Oxford University philosophy professor Richard Swinburne used a broadly accepted probability theory to defend the truth of Christ's resurrection. He did this at a high-profile gathering of philosophy professors at Yale University.

"For someone dead for 36 hours to come to life again is, according to the laws of nature, extremely improbable." Swinburne then used Bayes' Theorem to assign values to things like the probability of God being real, Jesus' behavior during his lifetime, and the quality of witness testimony after Jesus' death. Then he plugged the numbers into a probability formula and added everything up. The result was a 97 percent probability that the resurrection really happened. [Emily Eakin, "So God's Really in the Details?" The New York Times, May 11, 2002]

When Charles Colson, onetime Watergate criminal-turned-founder of Prison Fellowship, is challenged about the truth of Christ's resurrection, he responds, "My answer is always that the disciples and 500 others gave eyewitness accounts of seeing Jesus risen from the tomb. But then I'm asked, ‘How do you know they were telling the truth? Maybe they were perpetuating a hoax.' " Colson says, "My answer to that comes from an unlikely source: Watergate."

He writes: "Watergate involved a conspiracy perpetuated by the closest aides to the president of the United States - the most powerful men in America, who were intensely loyal to their president. But one of them, John Dean, turned state's evidence, that is, testified against Nixon, as he put it, ‘to save his own skin' - and he did so only two weeks after informing the president about what was really going on! The cover-up, the lie, could only be held together for two weeks, and then everybody else jumped ship to save themselves. Now, all those around the president were facing was embarrassment, maybe prison. Nobody's life was at stake."

"But what about the disciples? Twelve powerless men, peasants really, were facing not just embarrassment or political disgrace, but beatings, stoning, execution. Every one of the disciples insisted, to their dying breaths, that they had physically seen Jesus bodily raised from the dead. Don't you think that one of those apostles would have cracked before being beheaded or stoned? That one of them would have made a deal with the authorities? None did. Men will give their lives for something they believe to be true; they will never give their lives for something they know to be false."

"The Watergate cover-up reveals the true nature of humanity. Even political zealots at the pinnacle of power will, in the crunch, save their own necks, even at the expense of the ones they profess to serve so loyally. But the apostles could not deny Jesus, because they had seen him face to face, and they knew he had risen from the dead."

"No, you can take it from an expert in cover-ups - I've lived through Watergate - that nothing less than a resurrected Christ could have caused those men to maintain to their dying whispers that Jesus is alive and is Lord. Two thousand years later, nothing less than the power of the risen Christ could inspire Christians around the world to remain faithful - despite prison, torture, and death. Jesus is Lord: That's the thrilling message of Easter. It's a historic fact, one convincingly established by the evidence - and one you can bet your life upon." [Charles Colson, BreakPoint Online Commentaries, April 29, 2002]