Pastoral Theology

When considering the qualifications for elders, “able to teach” is often recognized as the one qualification uniquely required for the office (1 Tim. 3:2, Tit. 1:9). Certainly, the unique role of elders centers on “the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). But another qualification is often missed or...

For fifty years, Leonard Bernstein conducted the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. He is regarded as one of the most important musicians in American history. A reporter once asked him, “What is the most difficult instrument to play?” Bernstein reflexively replied, “Second fiddle! I can...

The qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 mention that for a man to be a minister he must be a one-woman man, be sober-minded, and be self-controlled. In my experience, these and other qualifications are commonly noted in letters of reference for potential pastors. And this makes...

It has been little over a year since I began to serve my first congregation in Grove City, PA. However, I feel as though it was only yesterday that I had led my first public worship service, preached my first sermon, administered my first Lord’s Supper, and enjoyed my first fellowship meal with my...

One of the most disinteresting comments that can come from a pastor’s mouth when asked how he’s doing is, “I’m so busy.” It is not only disinteresting, but if he has a habit of saying that each time he’s asked about his ministry, he may be, either implicitly or explicitly, suggesting that God is a...

Church plants and revitalization is a unique and difficult ministry. Unlike many ministers who serve in an established ministry context, church planters and revitalizers often encounter situations and problems that is distinctive to their contexts. Problems such as facing financial difficulty with...

Are you a cheap pastor on social media? There is a phenomenon on social media where someone will offer a command, framed as helpful advice, to an audience who are not likely to be people with whom they have any meaningful relationship. But the nature of their advice is such that a meaningful...

Evangelical feminists – often now coloring themselves as “egalitarians” – deal with the passages of the Bible that directly address women in church leadership as if God were an incompetent communicator. That is, they take passages that they admit appear to prohibit women from certain roles and...

Having been unable to see my friend, who lives just across the border from me, for roughly two years during Covid-19, I was a little startled when we met and he immediately said to me, “you got grey.” I had, in fact, developed a lot of grey hair, no doubt because of the amount of stress caused by...

Learning about the battle between popes and civil authorities in medieval Europe feels a bit like an episode of Oprah’s show: “You get excommunicated; you get excommunicated; everyone gets excommunicated.” Of course it famously culminated in Henry VIII finally not going along with the program and...