When we counsel a couple separating or working through the wreckage of divorce, it’s not unusual for a pastor to think, “If only this could have been dealt with sooner—before it got so bad.” Let’s take it from the beginning. Not the beginning of the marital issues or even the beginning of the marriage. Go all the way back to the moment a couple starts dating, and you … [Read more...]
20 ways to get people involved in care ministry
By equipping your members to counsel one another, you enable them to do the frontline work of ministry. Here are twenty ways to cultivate a culture of counseling and discipleship in your church: Preach the Bible to the church as a whole. In other words, biblical texts should be applied not just to individuals, but to the church as a whole. Help the congregation see what … [Read more...]
Ministering to the reluctant and the resistant
While many people think the main part of the pastor’s job is simply to preach, the Scriptures tell us that the pastor is also called to shepherd people through the suffering of life. Shepherding people, though, is a difficult thing; it gets messy. Additionally, shepherding people through the difficulties in life can expose two different types of difficult people: The … [Read more...]
12 ways to prevent child sexual abuse
Jonathan was sick to his stomach. No pastor ever wants a child hurt. Yet, his church was facing a lawsuit over sexual abuse in their children’s ministry. He was bogged down with conversations with a lawyer, shepherding the distraught families in his congregation, feeling guilt over his failed leadership, and trying to hold things together. Jonathan said, “It felt like a bomb … [Read more...]
Which one is the child sex offender?
Karen was an innocent teenager in a hallway of a local mega-church heading home after a youth event. Sam, a building manager, pulled her into an empty classroom and forced her to have sex. No one else was around, and she didn’t know what to do, so she just gave in to Sam’s demands. He threatened her so that she wouldn’t tell anyone, but it was hard to hide because she cried the … [Read more...]