In my experience over the past 30-plus years of pastoral ministry, I have encountered too many pastors who I think would be characterized as burdened, wearied, discouraged, and not joyful. These men are serving the Savior faithfully and for that they are to be commended, and they have my deepest respect. It is required of us to serve the Lord faithfully. But it is not sufficient for us simply or solely to serve the Lord faithfully in the context of pastoral ministry. In order to accurately represent God, in order to please and glorify God as pastors, we must serve him joyfully. We must serve the Lord with gladness (Psalm 100:2). That forms part of my burden in choosing that topic and addressing that topic and addressing pastors and seeking to equip them with an understanding of this as a priority for them personally as well as in pastoral ministry.
The full hourlong podcast, “The Pastor and His Joy,” can be downloaded here.
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Joy | Pastoral ministry | Podcasts
Pastors are obviously called to care for the souls of others, and yet today we want to turn the focus and ask: How does a pastor make sure that he is caring for his own soul? What does it look like for a man to pursue his own personal relationship with God and make sure he is growing spiritually?
The full hourlong podcast, “The Pastor and His Soul,” can be downloaded here.
Affections | Cross of Christ | Cross-centered life | Leadership | Pastoral ministry | Podcasts | Prayer | Reading | Spiritual disciplines
On behalf of the many folks excited to make C.J.’s pastoral and practical wisdom more accessible to pastors, we announce the launch of the Sovereign Grace Leadership Interview Series podcast. The interviews feature a roundtable discussion among C.J. Mahaney (president of Sovereign Grace Ministries), Jeff Purswell (dean of our Pastors College), and Joshua Harris (senior pastor of Covenant Life Church). The three gather on a regular basis to discuss a wide array of theological and practical leadership issues. In the introduction to the first podcast, Jeff Purswell explains the origin of the series.
Well, as we talk about this series around here it gets a lot of laughs because the genesis has been so long in coming. C.J. contributes to the Pastors College (Sovereign Grace’s school where we train pastors for Sovereign Grace churches). C.J. and his wife, Carolyn, will meet with the students and their wives once a month in the evening to share wisdom, answer questions, share from their wealth of experience and so forth. And I used to sit in those every week or twice a month with C.J., and so many times I would be sitting there as he answers questions. And I would be amazed at the wisdom coming forth, the grace that is on C.J., and the wealth of experience he has. And I remember thinking, “Oh, this would be so good for so many pastors.” Actually, I talked to a pastor from another Sovereign Grace church and told him about this context. I will never forget what he said. “I would give my right arm to sit in that basement and listen to C.J.”
Lend your ear and keep your arm because those Pastors College contexts have been recreated, recorded, and made available for free download. But beyond the wisdom of C.J., you will glean valuable insights from Jeff and Joshua, too. The combined wisdom of these three men—each with unique church leadership experiences—converges into an informative and lively conversation that will especially serve pastors. The first episode—“The Pastor and His Reading”—covers the importance of reading, the priority of a developed discipline of reading, and gets down to specific book recommendations (check your book budget balance before listening). Listen, download, and subscribe through the podcast page here. Below are links to all the resources mentioned in the podcast. Enjoy! ------------- Resources mentioned in the podcast:
Pastoral ministry | Podcasts | Reading
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