Get the book here.
How to Help Your Pastor
I appreciate it when others write about how to help pastors. It’s a rare topic. I really like the four points listed by John Catanzaro in his series “Healthy Pastors.” Please consider these for the pastoral leaders in Austin City Life. It’s a good list to keep in mind for your City Group leaders.
- Understand. The first way to help your pastor is to develop understanding and sensitivity to the stress and demands of a pastor’s work.
- Pray. Secondly, pray for your pastor. A very active prayer ministry to support the pastors in their evangelical work is fundamental to the health of pastors and the church at large.
- Grow. Thirdly, mature in the faith. Grow and work to preserve the work of God in your sphere. Do not contribute to confusion, gossip and bitter attitudes. Get involved in action, service, and financial contribution, which are all vital to the health of the Christian mission of proclaiming Christ in your community and the world.
- Lead. Finally, faith in action is serving others above what you want in support of the ministry of the church. Don’t just get involved in ministry; actively work with the leadership to provide healthy momentum in ministry and to become a personal preacher of the ways of Christ!
Check out the rest of the post here.
New Deluxe Jesus Storybook Bible
We use the Jesus Storybook Bible with our kids just about every morning. The stories are adapted from the Bible in kid-friendly language without dumbing down the theological content. The stories are Christ-centered and well illustrated. Although they can be a little long for small children (we shorten them), the Jesus Storybook Bible is a rich resource for teaching your children about God and his plan for all creation through Jesus.
Next month Zondervan is releasing a Deluxe Version which includes MP3s (get some free now), which will be great for the car. Check out the free resources on the new website.
New Statesman Article
The Statesman was kind enough to run my article on God’s Promise of Renewal today. Check it out and interact with the comments. An excerpt:
Walking out into the backyard, I could see the Cape Cod peninsula on the horizon. The Boston skyline stood tall to my right, and the Atlantic waves crashed into the shore below. With my pipe packed with black Virginia, I took a deep breath, inhaling New England beauty. Taking in the glories of this veritable paradise, my thoughts climbed the trees around me, jumped to the clouds overhead and scrambled into heaven. What force, what greatness, what creativity could will such beauty out of nothing?