Sometimes I feel a little bit like Job.  If you haven’t read Job’s story, he was a righteous man, who lost everything he held dear, and was then confronted by God when he began to grumble about it. (Book of Job) Sometimes, like Job, I start to reflect too deeply on the challenges I’m facing […] The post When Things Get Hard appeared first on Isaac Hopper | Encouraging the Church ..read more

Today (July 1, 2018) I became the new Senior Pastor at Leo United Methodist Church in the Fort Wayne, IN area. As my family gets acquainted with the congregation, and as they get to know us in return, it was important for me to share a bit of my heart and vision for ministry. The […] The post Embracing the Christian Pardox appeared first on Isaac Hopper | Encouraging the Church ..read more

I was recently offered the privilege of teaching a session of the Best Practices Workshop in the West District of the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church, where I currently serve as a pastor. The session, titled United Methodist Primer, was intended to give participants a basic understanding of the history, theology, and organization […] The post United Methodist Primer appeared first on Isaac Hopper | Encouraging the Church ..read more

Patrick Lencioni, The Better Pastor: A Fable about Embracing the Role of Leading a Parish (Lighthouse Catholic Publishing, 2016)   I picked up a copy of Patrick Lencioni’s latest book, after attending a short retreat for pastors, where we discussed team building and leadership. Lencioni’s work is widely known and accepted among business leadership enthusiasts, but […] The post Book Review: The Better Pastor appeared first on Isaac Hopper | Encouraging the Church ..read more

I was privileged this week to speak at Old Bethel United Methodist Church in Indianapolis as part of their Legacy series, which is taking a look at some of the foundational beliefs and practices of the Methodist movement. Specifically, I was asked to speak on one of John Wesley’s distinctive theological emphases. So, of course, […] The post Are Christians Ever Really Perfect? appeared first on Isaac Hopper | Encouraging the Church ..read more

I am always on the lookout for tools that help me improve my productivity. Since sermon planning and writing is the most public aspect of pastoral ministry, and is also an activity which usually takes a significant portion of a pastor’s working hours each week, I am particularly interested in tool that help me to […] The post Sermon Planning Resources for 2018 appeared first on Isaac Hopper | Encouraging the Church ..read more

For the last few days, I’ve been reading James Emery White’s new book, Meet Generation Z: Understanding and Reaching the New Post-Christian World. It is a summary study of the largest generation in American history, and (according to researchers) likely the last distinguishable generation that we will ever see, due to the increasingly rapid pace […] The post Do You Have Compassion for Your Lost Neighbor? appeared first on Isaac Hopper | Encouraging the Church ..read more

There is a question we need to begin asking and answering more earnestly in the Church.   Do you love Jesus?   For some of us in the Church, the question itself is offensive. We think it is too emotional, too touchy-feely. We believe in God and want to go to heaven, and we know […] The post How Much Do You Love Jesus? appeared first on Isaac Hopper | Encouraging the Church ..read more

If you have spent any length of time in a church, you have probably heard some talk about idols. Not the American Idol sort, but the kind that people have worshipped throughout time.   The first place in Scripture where most people are exposed to the concept of idols is Exodus 20, where God is […] The post Removing Idols from Our Lives appeared first on Isaac Hopper | Encouraging the Church ..read more

There are things a pastor cannot do. The post There Are Things a Pastor Cannot Do appeared first on Isaac Hopper | Encouraging the Church ..read more