Ministry is tough! The first sermon I preached in my present church was on 1 Cor 16.9, where Paul writes: "I will stay... for a wide door for effective work has opened to me". I sought in my sermon to speak of the opportunities for Christian mission today. I admitted ...
In a recent sabbatical study1of the factors affecting the ways in which British Baptists come to their decisions to seek a change of pastorate or ministry it became clear that at least one fifth of all such decisions were prompted to a significant degree by opposition to the pastorate from ...
(Adapted from an article in the Baptist Times, 17 July 1997) The changing lifestyles of American pastors were revealed in a survey by the Baptist Sunday School Board which showed the following findings: 89% said that they reserved time in their schedules each week for family activities. 55% engage in ...
Introduction Mark’s is a gospel of urgent intensity. Its most jagged motif stands in stark con-trast to many contemporary models of psychological transformation, even those defining growth as an abandonment of the known and controlling self (ego). In his Gospel, transformation ultimately comes about by the total personal des-truction of ...
(As editor of Ministry Today I am always keen to encourage working ministers to write short practical articles reflecting on some aspect of their ministry. So as a working minister myself, I thought I would set an example by contributing a piece which arises directly out of my present ministry. ...
(As editor of Ministry Today I am always keen to encourage working ministers to write short practical articles reflecting on some aspect of their ministry. So as a working minister myself, I thought I would set an example by contributing a piece which arises directly out of my present ministry. ...
‘I have dreamed dreams, that have gone through and through me and changed the colour of my mind …’ (Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte) More than ever before, this age needs people who can see through both eyes, who can use intuition and reason, who can integrate knowledge and faith. ...
How I hate these questions! On what possible basis can one select ten precious books from one’s library, as the Editor has requested I do, should the house catch fire? Let me change the question slightly and tell you rather of ten volumes that I would like to take with ...
(This article is an adaptation of a Commencement Address given at the University of Queensland in March 1998) Commencement addresses are an interesting genre. They are the ‘You’re gonna make it’ speech by some famous person to the graduating class. The most talked about last year was Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s ...
(Golcar is a medium sized Baptist church which uses a converted Sunday School hall for worship. Like quite a number of traditional churches, we have gradually taken on new ideas, but we are by no means an all-singing, all-dancing congregation. Old and new live side by side in reasonable harmony. ...
The title is an old joke, and those of us who are hard of hearing have heard it so often that we’re fed up to the back teeth with it. Why, in this anti-sexist, anti-racist, politically correct culture, is it still OK, even in church, to make fun of those ...
Power for God's Sake - Power and Abuse in the Local Church Paul Beasley-Murray Paternoster Press, 1998; 194pp; £8.99; ISBN 0 85364 899 9 The abuse of power by male clergy and ministers over women and children is the stuff of tabloid headlines. Given their frequency and tragedy, no-one should ...
You are reading Issue 14 of Ministry Today, published in October 1998.
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