Practical Theology / Pastoral Ministry

  • Assurance by John de Witt

    FROM TABLETALK | February 1992

    What does a pastor think about assurance? By assurance here I mean the certainty that through Jesus Christ one is a child of God: forgiven, renewed, having eternal life. I cannot speak for others, but I can give my thoughts …Read More

  • It’s Not About You by Eric Landry

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2012

    After a particularly difficult marriage counseling session early in my first year of ministry, I called a mentor to debrief and decompress. He patiently heard me out and then offered a convicting assessment: “It sounds as if you’re more …Read More

  • In Season and Out of Season by Douglas Wilson

    FROM TABLETALK | April 1999

    Y2K has not always been on everyone’s lips, but it will be. For years, those who had taken the responsibility of warning others were pretty lonely. Now that we have little time left, we have mounting awareness—and mounting …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

  • One Family Under God by Tom Ascol

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2013

    He was asking a question that I had heard multiple times during my years as a pastor: “Do you have children’s church?” This time, instead of giving an extensive explanation for our practice of not segregating our church worship …Read More

  • Desiring God: An Interview with John Piper by John Piper

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2013

    Tabletalk: How did you become a Christian? John Piper: God wakened me from spiritual death when I was a child under the faith-filled instruction and example of my happy, Spirit-filled, mentally healthy, fundamentalist parents. I am told I professed faith …Read More

  • The Fine Line by Nicholas Batzig

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2010

    Every Christian is to have a conscience singularly informed by the Word of God, but it is utterly indispensable for the minister of the gospel. Ministers are called to take a stand for truth before those who oppose the Word …Read More

  • God-Centered Preaching by Bernie van Eyk

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2012

    “People are starving for the greatness of God,” observes John Piper, “but most of them would not give this diagnosis of their troubled lives. The majesty of God is an unknown cure. There are far more popular prescriptions on the …Read More

  • Don’t Waste Your Cancer: An Interview with Matt Chandler by Matt Chandler

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2011

    Tabletalk: By way of offering a brief introduction of yourself and your family, when was God’s call to serve His people confirmed for you? Matt Chandler: I think my story is a bit strange in that my awareness of …Read More

  • Grace to You: An Interview with John MacArthur by John MacArthur

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2012

    TT: How did the Grace to You radio program begin, and how many people does it reach today? John MacArthur: It began in kind of a roundabout fashion. Sometime in the early 1970s, we began to get letters from Baltimore …Read More

  • Listening and the Pastor by Matthew Miller

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2013

    Pastors sense deeply the frustration of trying to get our message through to our people. Almost daily, our mailboxes are filled with flyers offering seminars on how we can tailor our sermons and use social media more effectively to “break …Read More

  • A Pastor’s Love for Christ by Nicholas Batzig

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2013

    Dr. John H. Skilton was professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia for almost fifty-eight years (1939–1998). He was one of the most scholarly men in the church. Rumors have circulated over the years that he …Read More

  • An Outpost of Jesus’ Kingdom: An Interview with Mark Driscoll by Mark Driscoll

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2011

    Tabletalk: What do you believe is the ultimate purpose of the church? Mark Driscoll: The biblical marks of the church universally and its expressions locally are many (for example, the Word, sacraments, discipline, discipleship, mission/evangelism, love), but their overarching …Read More

  • The Pastor and the Funeral by Harry Reeder

    FROM TABLETALK | October 2011

    The subject I have been asked to write about was one of my greatest fears upon entrance into pastoral ministry. But today I consider it one of my greatest privileges. Why? Because of the historicity and glorious message of the …Read More

  • The Ordinary Means of Growth by Ligon Duncan

    FROM TABLETALK | October 2007

      We are living in a confused and confusing time for confessional Christians (Christians who are anchored by a public and corporate theological commitment to be faithful to the Bible’s teaching on faith and practice as expounded by the great …Read More