Articles
Expanding the patient's world
Are pastors just supposed to listen and pray, or is there something more we can do to help speed recovery for our hospitalized parishioners? Gerald W. Paul suggests ways to go beyond being interested to being helpful. His ideas will help you broaden and brighten the patient's outlook.
Advent on ice?
Some New Testament texts seem to expect Christ to return almost immediately. Others point to a delay of His advent, or to events that must occur before. He returns. Christians have long probed this dilemma. Are these passages in conflict? How shall we understand them? What do they say to us as we look for the Lord's advent?
I was in prison...
You don't have to serve time in jail before you are qualified to begin a prison ministry. These practical suggestions should open your eyes to the need for this sadly neglected type of evangelism.
The Temptations of Ministry
Kenneth L. Gibble's introspective look at the temptations of Jesus turned the spotlight on a few tarnishes on his clerical halo. You'll want to examine yours too, to see where it needs a little polishing by the grace of God.
Preach what you believe!
Charles D. Brooks, a well-known Adventist preacher, is not so much interested in the mechanics of preaching as in the reality of the message. He turns away from concern about how the sermon is prepared to concern with how the preacher is prepared. His message will make you stand tall in the pulpit!
Motivating your members
Motivating members of any volunteer organization, including the church, can be a particularly challenging task. But recent theories of motivation arising from the business world offer insights that the pastor will find helpful.
Stress in the chaplaincy
It would be nice if our bodies had built-in red lights that would flash when we encounter excessive and harmful levels of stress. On second thought, we would probably pay no more attention to flashing red lights than we do to obvious signs of stress already present One facet of ministry that is especially vulnerable to stress-related problems is hospital chaplaincy.
In praise of guilt
In this age, guilt has acquired a bad reputation. But more often than not it functions positively, helping preserve societal and personal relationships, and highlighting our need of God.
Shepherdess: Are you caught in the mold?
Caught between the modern admonition to "be yourself" and the reality of traditional role expectations, a minister's wife can begin to wonder who she really is. Here are some positive ways to seek the answer.
The pinnacle of divine creativity
With its 206 bones, 639 muscles, 4 million pain sensors in the skin, 750 million air sacs in the lungs, 16 billion nerve cells, and 30 trillion cells in total, the human body is remarkably designed for life.