The Industry of the Church and “Actor Preachers” August 18, 2021 Pastor's Blog That’s an odd way to describe the church, but it seems to be the trend–seeing the church more and more like an industry; something to build in number, brand, and influence. The church is competing with the world’s entertainment. This has led to extravagant lights, programs, music, videos, and emotionally driven productions. The question is no longer “How can man be made right with God?” The question has become, “How can we get more people here?” And “here” is defined as more than the other church down the ..read more

Singing in Church August 19, 2021 Pastor's Blog “Let’s turn down the lights.” “Let’s turn up the music.” “The drums are too loud” and “the song is too long.” “Let’s sing the old stuff.” “No, let’s sing the new stuff.” “Why can’t we be more like the church down the road?” “Let’s don’t be like that church down the road.” Statements like these and more are typical comments pastors are prone to hear. Music is a big deal to people, and everyone has an opinion–and most are not shy to share them! But here’s a radical idea: The content of the music is really important–but so is the SINGING ..read more

The Most Influential Books of My Life (1995) December 15, 2023 Book Reviews, Influential Book Series, Pastor's Blog Donald Thomas  This is the first article in a series of articles where I’m going to tell you the most influential books I’ve read in my life. The date in the title is referencing the year in which I read the book.    A few of caveats:  1. I’m not saying these are the best books I’ve read, although many of them would make that list as well.  2. I’m not saying that I agree with everything in these books (except one of them for which I do ..read more

Why Gather With The Church? April 27, 2023 Pastor's Blog Mark Allamon Let me describe for you a fictional phone call that represents countless calls that are placed by pastors every week to their members.    Pastor Jones hasn’t seen the Williams at church for quite some time so on a Tuesday afternoon, he picks up his phone to give them a call. After a few rings, Mr. Williams picks up and greets his pastor enthusiastically but inwardly feels a bit uneasy about the possible purpose of the call. Pastor Jones opens up the conversation by asking generally about the William’s wel ..read more

The Camp I Wish I Could Send Your Christian Teen To August 12, 2022 Pastor's Blog What if there was a teen camp that intensely focused on teaching robust ecclesiology to middle and high schoolers? Answering questions like: What is a church? Why is it central for a Christian? What’s the mission? What does it mean to be a member? What are healthy marks of the church? How to find one? However, it seems to me that many summer camps focus on individualistic experiences rather than the centrality of the local church. It’s common to hear of teen camps that focus on God’s salvation for me…God ..read more

How Much Should You Care About a Church’s Music? July 16, 2022 Pastor's Blog In short, you should care a lot. But not for the reasons you might think. —— Music is a dicey subject for many in the church. You’ve probably heard of worship wars? If not, it is as it sounds. People who call themselves Christians, who have been delivered from the domain of darkness, who have been set free from enslavement from sin, who have been saved from eternal wrath and damnation for their sins, who have been turned from rebels of God to adopted sons and daughters of God—these people then turn around an ..read more

Why is the Sovereignty of God So Important? April 6, 2022 Pastor's Blog I’ve been working my way through Iain Murray’s biography of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Lloyd-Jones lived from 1899-1981 and is often considered to be one of if not the most powerful preachers of the 20th century.  Lloyd-Jones is known for his prayer, evangelistic zeal, and other pastoral qualities, but foremost he is known for his preaching. The doctor was not fancy. He believed in the sufficiency of God’s Word and the Spirit’s power to use the regular preaching of God’s Word to bring about change in one’s hear ..read more

“Hey, Preacher…” November 19, 2021 Pastor's Blog One of my favorite parts of my job as a pastor is to be a preacher.    Sometimes a member of the church will even refer to me as “his preacher.”   However, this is a subtle yet incomplete labeling once you think about it.    For too long, I also shared in this mentality—one that only saw pastoring as preaching. Sure, everyone knows a pastor does more than preach. Sometimes he does weddings and funerals, right? In many people’s minds, preaching is basically what the pastor is there for. “I go to c ..read more

Is God in Control or in Charge? August 19, 2021 Pastor's Blog I heard someone say recently something like, “God is in charge, but He is not in control.” People say things like this with good intentions trying to deal with the supposed problem of evil. This is the thought process: “God is a good God, but there is evil all around us. If God were in control, he would have to answer for not addressing the evil. But because he is simply in charge, he gives freedom to creation and people to do as they wish, and many times they do evil things or evil things come. Or evil things come as a re ..read more