Need a Pastor?

“There are so many churches without pastors today! Why are there so few pastors?”

“What’s wrong with the colleges and seminaries? They are not turning out pastors like they used to!”

The first comment and question is valid.

The second question and comment is what I want to address.

First of all, the issue is not solely with the colleges and seminaries. Yes, there are institutions of higher learning that have drifted in their emphasis on pastoral ministry, but there is a greater need.

Where should future pastors and missionaries come from? Without question, they should come from our homes and local churches. May I offer the following?

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Pastor, Lift Your Foot Off the Accelerator! | The Importance of Rest

It’s Monday.

Pastor, what are God’s plans for you today?

I understand that in the normal rhythm of life there are unexpected detours, but are you planning to rest today? Are you preparing to recharge your spiritual, physical, and mental batteries?

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Mentoring Ministry Leaders

Could the next pastor of your local church come right out of your own congregation?

Pastor, who are you preparing to follow you in ministry?

Are you training men to preach and to lead now and in the future (Matthew 28:16-20; Ephesians 4:11-16; and 2 Timothy 2:2)?

After COVID, the church where I serve became even more intentional about this task. With our current senior pastor’s leadership, we developed small groups that have continued to meet on Wednesdays and Thursdays in various homes around our area.

Eleven months out of the year, the small group leaders gather for an evening of training. Last year our leaders read Robby Gallaty’s book, Preaching for the Rest of Us: Essentials for Text-Driven Preaching. This was a helpful, practical, and insightful read and discussion.

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Joy in Ministry

Pastor, are you enjoying the ministry?

Having been a senior pastor for 40 years, I understand the hard, difficult side of local church ministry. Nevertheless, may I ask again, do you enjoy ministry?

Perhaps today or in recent weeks or even months, you would have to honestly say, “I am not joyful in the ministry.”

Why not?

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What the Church Needs

Pastor, what does your church need?

Ask any local church pastor, and you will hear, “Our church needs ____________________.” There are many words that could fill that blank, and every pastor really believes he knows what it is from revival, another building, two AM services, another staff member, etc.

After 40 years of being a senior pastor and now in an associate role, I have come to this conclusion . . . I don’t know what our church needs nor do I know what your church needs. Only my omniscient Heavenly Father and the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ knows what Boones Creek Bible Church needs. My limited, short-sighted, not able to discern the hearts of the people knowledge is totally incapable of discerning what any church needs.

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This Is The Best Advice I Have Received

Oh my! Easter dinner!! What’s not to like?

The table is beautifully set. Everyone has their favorites, their “must haves.”

It’s time to eat! My wife has prepared Katie Brown chicken, almond/lime green beans, mashed potatoes, honey drizzled rolls, angel eggs, strawberry avocado salad, and then . . . coconut cake with lemon filling for dessert!!! Wow! Oh so good!!!

The best approval rating came from our grandsons who cleaned their plates!!

Recently I answered the question, “What is the best advice you ever received in life?” There are many things that came to my mind, but one that stands out is a piece of advice that I heard many times from a mentor 40 years my senior.

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For The Pastor Who Is Too Busy To Take A Day Off

“When do you take a day off?”

“I try to take Mondays off . . . whenever I can.”

Interpretation: I’m too busy with ministry to take a day off.

Pastor, have you ever said anything like that? If so, here’s a warning: you are too busy.

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Take 3

This week I was able to watch the Barna Group’s 2024 The State of Pastors Summit. The first session began with asking some key questions. I would like to share those questions with the pastors who read this blog.

  1. What are the biggest struggles you face today?
  2. What are you most hopeful about today leading into the future of the church?
  3. How can we be praying for you as a pastor?

Would you be so kind to answer the questions using the following email address: danddmin@gmail.com? I will not disclose your name in a blog post or on social media.

My heart is to encourage pastors. I want to help you, cheer you on. That’s the purpose of this blog and one of the purposes of D & D Ministry. Having grown up in a pastor’s home and just ending my 40th year of being a senior pastor, I know the struggles, heartaches, disappointment and sorrows of ministry as well as the joys, victories, and fulfillment. I desire to be your friend, to encourage you to finish well.

Thank you for reading and taking your time to share your answers!!

Wherever you are in ministry today, soak your soul in Romans 8:18, 26-39.

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Discouraged Pastor

He had experienced a long, difficult week. Struggling to preach, his mind was tired, and his body was weak. By God’s grace he was giving it his all, but by the end of the service, his heart was weak and discouraged.

Discouragement comes in waves like low and high tides.

Discouragement attacks at weak moments.

Discouragement is the unwanted companion of most pastors.

As my wife and I have travelled here-and-yon the past six months, and I have spoken with many pastors on the phone, discouragement in the ministry is an ever-present temptation to which many succumb.

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Handling That Sticky Situation

“Pastor, this is a potential “sticky situation.” What should we do about it? We need some answers. We need wisdom.”

Ministry life is made up of a multitude of decisions everyday. Some are black and white. Others, no so much. Pastor, how do you handle the “sticky situation” questions/decisions?

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