What is the purpose of Christian ministry? What is the purpose of your ministry as one of Christ's ministers? ...
As we have seen, Ephesians 4:11-12 reveals that all of God's people are ministers. Pastors and other church leaders are the "coaches" who equip their members for ministry in the church and in the...
Before we move on from Ephesians 4:11-12, I want to devote one more reflection to the challenge and opportunity of this passage...
In the last several days, we have focused on Ephesians 4:11-12. These verses teach that all of God's people are ministers. These ministers are to be equipped by pastors and other church leaders for...
Sometimes a comma can make all the difference in the world. C
What are your expectations for your pastor? To what extent are your expectations shaped by the truth of Ephesians 4:11-12?
Who are the ministers of Jesus Christ? As I explained in yesterday's reflection, most Christians would answer this question by pointing to...
When I was growing up in the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, I knew who the ministers were.
These days, you can read dozens of books on church leadership. You can attend dozens of conferences each year that will give...
When Christians talk about "spiritual gifts," we usually think of special abilities given by God to each of us so that we might serve God and others in the power of his spirit...
As we have seen in recent reflections, one way we live out our calling as God's people is by being zealous to...
As we saw in yesterday's reflection, if we are to live out our divine calling, then we will "make every effort to...
God has called us to be his people, his beloved children. He has also called us to participate in his creative, redemptive...
In my last post, I suggested that Paul begins to explain how we live out our calling...
In another post, I confessed my surprise over where Paul begins as he urges us to live...
For the last several days, we have focused on the exhortation in Ephesians 4:1. We have seen that individually and together, we...
When we read Ephesians 4:1, we hear this verse as if it speaks to us personally. We feel personally, individually urged to live a life worthy of the calling we have each received...
As an ordained pastor, nobody would flinch if I said I have been called to my line of work. We're familiar with the notion that clergy have a calling. But could this also...
We don't hear the language of calling very often in common speech anymore.
We tend to use the language of calling in two ways. In secular terms, "calling" can be the equivalent of "profession" or "vocation." (In fact, "vocation" comes from the Latin word vocatio, which...
