My posts in this series are a bit... all over the place. However, I hope it makes sense when I talk about what I call my call to ministry. But before I do, I would like to talk about the third aspect of one's Call to Ministry. SELF To what extent is a call to …
Exploring the “Call to Ministry.” Part 2
I am continuing my discussion on the "Call to Ministry" where I am assuming three aspects--- God, Church, and Self. My last post I talked about the Divine (God) aspect. I will move on here. CHURCH The seminary I teach at speaks of developing Christian leaders from those who are "God Called, Church Affirmed." There …
Exploring the “Call to Ministry.” Part 1
I would like to suggest that there are (potentially) three major components to a Call to Ministry. These three are not independent of each other. Therefore, they are shown like a Venn Diagram. I would like to explore each part separately, with some acknowledgement of the interrelations that may be relevant. GOD Many would argue …
Thoughts on Losing (or Changing) Faith
Many years ago I followed a guy who was a Christian bookstore owner who also sought to go further into ministry, particularly in terms of consulting and writing. I never contacted him directly, but in my mind I wished him well. I knew that was a hard road to travel, but I could relate somewhat …
Is Raising a Child Christian Missions?
This question sounds strange, to me at least, and I think it might for you as well. But let me tell a couple of stories before I flesh this out. Story #1. A friend of our family in the Philippines is a single female missionary. She had adopted an at-risk child in the Philippines and …
Reverse Culture Shock and The Wizard of Oz
L. Frank Baum's book, as most would know, wrote "The Wizard of Oz" and then a series of books built around Dorothy Gale and her visits to the Land of Oz. In the 1939 movie, the visit was brief and actually just a dream. In the book, the initial visit lasted close to two months, …
The Apostle Matthias— A Sermon
I gave this sermon at Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary (Baguio City, Philippines), in October 2023. “Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us--- beginning from the baptism of John until the day He was taken up from us--- from among these, …
In Ministry, People are More Important than Institutions
Having served on the pastoral staff (relatively briefly) of a couple of churches, ran a Christian counseling center (for much longer), and served on the faculty of multiple seminaries, I have seen the recurring struggle over what is more important, people or institutions. When counseling one or two members of a marriage--- should one focus …
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What Makes Pastoral Care and Counseling “Pastoral”?
I am teaching an online class, "Introduction to Pastoral Care and Counseling" for seminary students in Sierra Leone. The students had a great question: Why call it "Pastoral Care and Counseling"? Why not simply call it "Care and Counseling"? This is a more fleshed-out version of my response to the class. "Pastoral" comes from the …
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Foreign Missionary Thoughts on Leviticus 19:33-34
<I took a break from posting to clean up my old posts. I have gone through all of my posts from the beginning in 2009 to the end of 2012. I deleted around 100, and touched up the rest.> Leviticus 19:33-34 seems to have become a popular verse recently, at least in the United States. …
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