This morning, we’ll celebrate our December graduation at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. This is our smaller of two annual commencements, but we’ll still graduate around 130 students today. The vast majority of them are Southern Baptists who are currently serving in paid vocational ministry, are presently looking for paid church staff positions, or are preparing to be domestic church planters or foreign missionaries. I hope you’ll pray for those who are transitioning to their next … [Read More]
Q&A 17: What does it take for a pastor to be intellectually vibrant and well-read in the pastorate?
Question: What does it take for a pastor to be intellectually vibrant and well-read in the pastorate?
Reply:
I believe nothing is more valuable in achieving this goal than that one would commit himself to be an expository preacher. That approach to preaching will keep one in the word week by week. I have found it to be a wonderful way to nourish my own soul as I allow God to teach me from his Word in … [Read More]
Q&A 16 (Part 2): Who are your five or six favorite preachers?
Question: Who are your five or six favorite living preachers? Why? What can we learn from them?
Reply:
It is difficult for me to list only 5 or 6 preachers that are my favorites who are still living. I listen to lots of preaching and I always have. I guess I would begin by saying that no one has impacted me, who is still living, more than John MacArthur. He is such a faithful expositor who simply … [Read More]
An Invitation to Study Pastoral Care and Counseling at Southeastern
The guiding foundation for Southeastern’s counseling program is that the Scriptures are sufficient for understanding people as spiritual, moral, relational and psychological beings. As such the program intends to prepare students to counsel from within the framework of a biblical anthropology, developing a biblical, God-related understanding of human problems, and implementing truthful, graceful, timely, relevant, and Christ-centered methods of problem solving and change (Ps. 1:1–2; Heb. 4:12–13).
For those students who seek a counseling track within … [Read More]
John Stott (1921-2011): Model Missional Pastor-Theologian
Yesterday, John Stott died at the age of ninety. Stott was one of a handful of men who helped bring about an evangelical renaissance in North America and the British Isles during the middle years of the twentieth century. Of that generation of giants, Billy Graham and J. I. Packer are the only two who haven’t yet departed to be with their Lord.
Numerous tributes have already been written about Stott; no doubt many more will … [Read More]
Just Say You Want to be a Pastor
In recent years, I’ve personally interacted with hundreds of current and recently graduated seminary students, and not just at Southeastern Seminary. These brothers and sisters in Christ are committed to serving God in all kinds of ministry contexts. In the five years I’ve been teaching, I’ve observed an interesting trend, especially among students in their twenties and thirties. Simply put, it’s increasingly rare for me to hear a student say he feels called to be … [Read More]
Helpful Interview about Pastor-Theologians
The primary reason I’m a professor is because I want to help equip a generation of collegians and seminarians to be pastor-theologians, particularly in a Southern Baptist context. In fact, my SEBTS students have sometimes accused me of using my church history and Baptist history classes as a platform for teaching pastoral ministry and theology. Guilty as charged. But don’t let them fool you; most of our students, including those who don’t feel a calling to … [Read More]
What Are You Willing To Be Fired Over?
Quick—raise your hand if you know a pastor or other church staff leader who has been fired.
We all know clergy who have been terminated from their positions. It doesn’t always happen the same way. Sometimes it’s an outright firing, while other times it’s a forced resignation. Sometimes it’s indeed time for the church leader to move on due to incompetence or sin, while other times the church is vindictive and unChristlike. Some terminated clergy quickly … [Read More]
John Wesley’s Twelve Rules for Preachers
John Wesley (1703-1791) was one of the key leaders of the Evangelical Awakening in Britain during the mid-18th century. Circumstances drove Wesley to adopt itinerant evangelistic preaching, an idea he picked up from his friend and former student George Whitefield. Once Wesley embraced itinerancy, he extended his movement’s influence by appointing other itinerant preachers to serve various “circuits” (regional networks) of “classes” (small groups)–Wesley hoped this strategy would bring evangelical renewal to the Church of England. It … [Read More]
