Practical Theology / Pastoral Ministry

  • Too Good to Be True? by Robert Strimple

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2010

    In 1935 I was baptized and then raised in one of the largest “mainline” Protestant denominations. But by age twelve I was so disappointed with the pastors sent to us, all preaching the old liberalism so popular in those years …Read More

  • The Missing Motive by Eric Alexander

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2010

    I am notoriously bad at remembering anniversaries, and last year it was quite a surprise to discover that 2008 marked the fiftieth anniversary of my ordination to the Christian ministry. Not that the occasion was other than memorable. Indeed it …Read More

  • To Whom Be the Glory by Robert Barnes

      I’m a confessional Calvinist, but I have the nagging sense that God slipped up when he allowed me to pastor a church. A number of questions go through my mind as I consider God’s decision to allow me …Read More

  • No Sacrifice Too Great by Michael Haykin

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2009

    In the final letter that we have from the apostle Paul, written in a lonely prison cell in Rome while he was expecting death for the sake of the gospel, he reminded his closest friend Timothy of the utter necessity …Read More

  • A Solemn Discharge of Duty by Tom Ascol

    FROM TABLETALK | August 2009

    One of the most popular sermons I have preached is entitled “How to Fire Your Pastor.” I should have been suspicious when so many people requested copies of it! My purpose wasn’t to advocate such action; rather, I wanted …Read More

  • Corinthian Enthusiasm by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2009

    I must have said it a thousand times: “Who would want a call to be the minister of the church at Corinth?” Among other things, it suffered from “the worship wars.” Read 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 and you quickly …Read More

  • The Pastor-Scholar by Philip Ryken

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2009

    As far as John Calvin was concerned, almost nothing was more urgent for the church than the reformation of pastoral ministry. For centuries, most ministers had been shockingly ignorant of the Scriptures and thus ill-equipped to preach the gospel. As …Read More

  • The School of Jesus Christ by David Powlison

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2009

    When I first received the intelligence of the death…of your son Louis, I was so utterly overpowered that for many days I was fit for nothing but to grieve; and albeit I was somehow upheld before the Lord by …Read More

  • The Genuine Life by Scotty Smith

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2009

    With three decades plus change in the pastoral ministry, the gospel seems to be getting bigger and Jesus is appearing more gracious than ever. Maybe that’s because I’ve never been more aware of my brokenness and more disrupted …Read More

  • Measuring Success by Larry Mininger

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2009

    About forty people scattered on metal chairs greeted me on my first Sunday in my first (and only) pastorate in a quaint little sanctuary nestled in the woods between massive orange groves just west of Orlando, Florida. There were no …Read More

  • Something Different by Matt Schmucker

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2009

    Matt, I don’t understand how you and Steve can be a part of the same church given what you each believe and practice.” This came from a young woman with whom my wife and I had been sharing the …Read More

  • Pastoral Wisdom by David Osborne

    FROM TABLETALK | October 2008

    The fourth Saturday of this month is legendary for college football fans. It is the annual clash between Alabama and Tennessee (two of the Deep South’s most storied football programs). Alabama fans recognize Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s iconic …Read More

  • We Don’t Need Supermen by Howard Davis Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2008

    In chapter two of Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, Paul David Tripp relates a story of a church member who called the pastor to get him to help a man. Tripp’s comment to the member was, “Isn’t …Read More

  • To the Young Pastor by Ron Gleason

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2008

    Being a pastor has been the most humbling, challenging, fulfilling, and wonderful calling of my life. It was in the pastoral ministry that I learned — and still am learning — that true success is not measured by the size of your …Read More

  • The High Call of Service by George Grant

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2008

    The heroine of My Fair Lady, Eliza Doolittle, captured the sentiment of most of us when she complained, “Words, words, words — I am so sick of words. I get words all day through, first from him, now from you. Is …Read More