Pastoral Reflection One Eye on the Crowd On the joys and weight of pastoring, and where a pastor’s eyes belong Derrick Hurst · Some of the best advice I ever got about preaching wasn’t about preaching. It was about where to look. You cannot preach with one eye on the crowd.Your eyes have to be…
Everyone notices Peter’s sword. But nobody talks about what he does next. He sheathes it, follows at a distance, and warms himself at the enemy’s fire. Same night. Different scene. That’s not just a Peter problem. It’s a leader problem. It’s a you and me problem.
Churches love a program that worked. Something clicks one year. People show up. Lives get touched. Somebody says, “We should do that every year,” and they’re right, so we do. It gets a team, a line in the budget, a spot on the calendar, maybe even a banner. And somewhere along the way, without anyone…
We can agree on everything that matters, then a matter of preference derails us. What is wrong with us?
When was the last time your faith created genuine friction — not because you were obnoxious, but because the claim itself demanded a response?
Honest post: why I’m still LCMS, even when it frustrates me.
Not a defense with my eyes closed. Not a critic with one foot out the door. Just the truth about what keeps me here theology, sacraments, liturgy, and a family I didn’t choose but wouldn’t trade.
The Outward Turn · Part One If your church ceased to exist tomorrow, would anyone outside your congregation know it was gone? Sit with that question for a moment before you answer it. Not the people on your roster. Not the families who would miss Sunday morning. Not the pastor whose livelihood depends on the…
Now there really isn’t such a thing and that’s something of which I am fully aware. But if a Lutheran were around in the Old Testament, I’m pretty sure this is something they would have written. Psalm 46 is pretty well known for many reasons. It has some very familiar parts to it. From the…
