Saturday Links

Links for your weekend reading:

Exegeting a Neighborhood within the City

There are four basic questions you can ask to gain a fairly good understanding of a particular neighborhood and/or city, based on the key elements of a culture.

1. (Narrative) What story is the city calling us to embody?
2. (Rituals)  What is the core practices that people engage in which shape their identity and sense of mission in life?
3. (Institutions) What are the primary institutions that are shaping the city, and how are they shaping people’s identity and destiny?
4. (Ethics) How would your neighborhood and/or city define success?

5 Things to Do Before Leaving Your Church

1. Share Your Thinking/Reasons with the Leaders
2. Resolve Any Outstanding Conflicts
3. Express Your Appreciation for the Church’s Ministry in Your Life
4. Say “Goodbye” to Friends and Family
5. Be Honest with Yourself about Your Own Efforts, Motives and Failings

What To Look For in a Church

1. Clarity on the gospel of grace
2. Christ-centered preaching
3. Theologically informed public worship
4. Hospitable people
5. Church discipline
6. Mercy for the poor
7. Concern for the lost

4 Reasons Why Pastors Should Talk Regularly about Money

1. It’s a major part of people’s lives.
2. The world is constantly talking about money.
3. Money is in direct competition with God.
4. You can’t shepherd hearts without shepherding pocketbooks.

35 lessons from 35 years as a pastor

As I recently reflected on the last thirty-five years I wrote down some lessons learned and convictions I’ve come to or continued to hold. Here are thirty-five of them.

Is It Actually Hard to Be a Pastor?

I do not intend to denigrate the work of ministers, nor to whitewash over the real hardships faced by ministers. … However, I want to caution against such an overabundance of vocational teeth-gnashing, as it can create specific problems for local congregations.