Category Archives: Pastoral Identity

Who, What is a “pastor” or a church leader?

Answering Young Steve Jobs: The Idolatry of Answers

Posted on October 31, 2011 by

One of the things JRR Tolkien got very right in his epic “Lord of the Rings” was the pull of “mastery” on our hearts. It’s not hard to see that below our strivings with technology, our market strivings, our relational … Continue reading →

Posted in Pastoral Identity, philosophical reflection, theological | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Singularity of Jesus and his claim for universality

Posted on March 4, 2011 by

Wrote this as a response to Bont on CiC who wrote a response to Tim Keller’s book “The King’s Cross”. I’ve been preaching through Luke for a couple of years now. I’ve really enjoyed staying with one book for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture commentary, Devotional Reflection, Pastoral Identity | Tagged | Leave a comment

Judas as one hurt by Jesus

Posted on February 25, 2011 by

I’ve read a lot of books complaining about treatment people have received from the church. I can’t say that any of the poor treatment was justified. I doubt it was. People hurt people. I’ve also done a lot of figuring … Continue reading →

Posted in Missional, Pastoral Identity | 4 Comments

How Pastors Struggle

Posted on November 19, 2010 by

This is by a couple of psychologists that Calvin Seminary and the CRC Pastor-Church Relations office in Grand Rapids use to consult with pastors. The authors based their conclusions upon intensive work with scores of churches and pastors who have … Continue reading →

Posted in CRC, Pastoral Identity | 1 Comment

Getting pastors a little drunk and in the mood for some whoring

Posted on November 24, 2009 by

In my Revelation study for Sunday School I’ve now arrived at chapter 17, the closeup of the whore of Babylon. She is the mother of whores, contrasted with the another woman found in the wilderness who is the mother of … Continue reading →

Posted in Pastoral Identity

The Care and Feeding of a Congregation

Posted on October 26, 2009 by

I wrote this on CRC-Voices in a thread where someone was telling about why they left their CRC church for an OPC church which unlike their former CRC preached serially through books in the Bible. There are levels to this … Continue reading →

Posted in CRC, Institutional Church, Pastoral Identity | 1 Comment

The Tim Keller Sermon Collection

Posted on October 23, 2009 by

I’m very grateful that Redeemer has decided to put a whole bunch of new sermons outside their pay wall. The value isn’t just there in terms of putting a bunch of great sermons into the public sphere for people to … Continue reading →

Posted in Pastoral Identity | Tagged

"Pastors like people who have problems that are quick to fix"

Posted on October 14, 2009 by

“Pastors like people who have problems that are quick to fix.” A friend of mine told me this on the phone today. His observations of pastors and churches are just dead on. We like people whose problems are quick for … Continue reading →

Posted in Pastoral Identity | 1 Comment

Notes from Tim Keller's "The Gospel and Your Self"

Posted on August 6, 2009 by

“The Gospel and Your Self” The Vision of Redeemer Series by Tim Keller, from Isaiah 6 PDF Version of my notes 1.    If we’re going to be a community that cares that much about the city we’re going to have … Continue reading →

Posted in Pastoral Identity, Quotations | Tagged

A happy generalist grazing widely

Posted on July 31, 2009 by

After 19 years in ministry I finally have an article filing system I’m satisfied with. When I was in seminary I’d hear from the preaching teachers about the importance of developing a file system to clip newspaper and magazine articles … Continue reading →

Posted in Pastoral Identity, Tech tools