ByLew
You all know my stance on vocational pastors. I’ve written about it over the past 6 years here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Not once have I ever noticed what Jesus says about those who shepherd for pay. It wasn’t until a comment I received on my blog last week that left me with…
ByLew
I came to believe that there was no valid support or defense for paying the salary of a pastor or elder while I was at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. This was while I was training to become a vocational/paid pastor! It was through my experiences at the seminary and studying the scriptures that made me…
ByLew
I use a system called Google Analytics to keep an eye on my blog stats. It tells me things like how many people visited my blog day-to-day, where people came from, and even what search terms were used to find different posts on my blog. I have found an interesting trend among the Church in…
ByLew
(or why I’d make a bad counselor) The way I see it there are three types of Christian counselors: The first counselor blames all of your problems on you. You reap what you sow kind of counseling. Basically, if you have cancer, it is because you do not have enough faith, God is punishing you…
ByLew
A long time ago I had a conversation with a close friend and pastor. We were discussing discipleship. Since then, I have encounter a number of people of who have been frustrated with their discipleship. One in particular, a pastor, has expressed deep frustration that his flock does not desire to follow. Thinking about all…
ByLew
God might be calling me to become a contract-pastor. It is similar to a vocational-pastor, except I won’t receive an annual salary. I’ll be paid on a contract basis – one hour minimum – billed in fifteen minute increments after first hour. I charge .495$ for traveling more than 20 miles. Some services are offered…
ByLew
I recently had a wonderful conversation with one of my co-workers. She came into my office to give me something and noticed my digital picture frame displaying on my desk. Then I showed her a picture of my wife and we spent a few minutes looking on Facebook and MySpace to see if my wife…
ByLew
This post is part of a monthly synchroblog. The topic of this month’s synchroblog is “Maturity in the Light of our Faith”. There are at least three parts to preaching. The first part is the preparation for preaching, the second part is the act of preaching, and the third part is listening to preaching. In…
ByLew
1 Timothy 3:2-7 contains a list that people usually consider to be qualifications for a leadership role within the Church. The normal practice (at least in Baptist circles) has little to do with determining if their leaders actually meet the requirements of this list, but they often use it if they want to kick their…
ByLew
Let me first say that this is not an attack on Dr. Akin. I personally think that Dr. Akin is a great guy. I truly believe that he wants what he thinks is best for all Christians/Southern Baptists. This critique of his email is merely an attempt to put out a different perspective. My perspective…