Minister's Toolbox

Is church leadership reserved for males only? What does scripture teach? Are you sure? This is probably the most crucial question you will face during your entire ministerial lifetime that will affect your congregation for years to come. During the podcast I mentioned some resources for further reading. Click here or here .  I also mentioned the study guide, How To Discover Your Ministry for use i...

We are often guilty of seeing the world the way we want to see it rather than how it truly is. Innovation helps us interact with culture to better serve them if done with the right heart. Ecclesiastes informs us that there is nothing new under the sun. Innovation can be communicated through just about any variety of means. Innovators, who think outside the box, see how to utilize inventions and me...

Jack shares part two of his extraordinary journey from hospitalization to joining a church and eventually planting a church in Rocky Hill, CT. You can contact him about his book or their church here .  During the podcast I mentioned MileIQ. You can get the free app here .  

Jack shares an amazing testimony of his recovery after a horrific accident left him as a paraplegic with no hope of regaining the use of his body. Currently, he is the pastor of Oasis of Life Christian Church in Rocky Hill, CT During the podcast, I mentioned the book, How To Discover Your Ministry . This study guide is ideal for individuals or groups to explore what genuine ministry entails while...

Starting a new congregation out of thin air takes a special kind of calling. To ensure that Christianity grows and flourishes, new churches must form. The "normal" way churches form, is heavy sponsorship from a larger congregation via a satellite network. This method has proven effective, but what about the pioneer church planter? What about the person who feels called to start a church...

Your character is the strongest sermon you’ll ever preach. Much more is caught than taught. Choices confront us every day. We can do the right thing or the easy thing. As a pastor, one of your main jobs is to do everything in your power to grow the influence and size of your church. The integrity challenge is how you invite people to join. A phrase pastors used years ago was sheep-rustlin g. A she...

  The second offering used to ordain Levites was a burnt offering. This is not designed to pay for or address sin but a sacrifice required by God in order to become a minister. Burnt offerings happened when every part of the animal was completely consumed by fire. They represented submitting to total loss as part of your worship toward God. Similar to the Levites, you cannot just call yourself int...

We all know the verse, Without vision the people perish. That also applies to pastors and church leaders. How do you get your vision back when ministry has dealt you harsh blows? To get further resources, visit www.ministerstoolbox.com. To leave an honest rating or review, go here .

Pastors by far are under-compensated for the work they do compared to other professions. One of the top three reasons pastors quit the ministry is over money. Church boards try to save money by paying the pastor as little as possible. That is a key reason churches don’t grow. Church boards should do all they can to bless their leaders financially and in every way possible for the work they do. Peo...

Does it ever frustrate you when you see members of your congregation continually fall into the same problems? You’ve preached your heart out week after week with answers to solve their problem. Somehow, they never get free.  Benjamin Franklin once said: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” To bring our pulpit ministry to the next level, we need to define wha...

People come to us with minds jam-packed with misinformation, wrong ideas, beliefs and opinions. How do we influence them to change their thinking towards following the ways of Christ? During today's show, I talked about Sticky Church . You can investigate this book here .   This is a video of the television show I mentioned during the broadcast. 

Do you encounter fellow believers who don't fit your preferences or opinions? Do you still offer them the right hand of fellowship or distance yourself? Due to our denominational affiliations, theological background or political views, we can easily disassociate ourselves from other Christian leaders. In one instance, they asked Jesus for permission to burn people up like human French fries b...

Our church receives one or two calls each week from someone in desperate need.  So, how does your church discern between the poor and those trying to scam your ministry? As a general rule, never be rushed into providing assistance to anyone. During the podcast, I share practical resources your church can access to help those who are poor. I also share a personal story of how good intentions can go...

During the podcast, I referenced two books: Crazy Love by Francis Chan and Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. Have you given us an honest review yet? Click Here .

Can demons influence sermons? What are the doctrines of demons? Probably not what you imagined. Today we look at Paul's warnings to those who teach scripture. On the podcast, I mentioned that you could get a copy of my recent book, When a Good Church Goes Bad that includes a free audio series and workbook.

The vast majority of Christians are gravely misinformed about demons or the demonic realm. Jesus dealt with and taught extensively about dealing with demons as a regular part of Christian ministry. His followers continued this practice as a normal part of doing ministry in their generation. Jesus was mocked because a normal part of his ministry involved casting demons out of people. The religious...

Ministers generally don’t talk about the demonic realm very much. Truth is, most prefer to ignore demons altogether because they are afraid their educated constituents or congregants will think they belong in the looney bin. I think most present-day ministers take a passive approach to the whole subject of demonology. We think that if we just ignore demons, they will ignore us. Paul tells us that...

In Luke 9:2, Jesus sent the twelve out to evangelize telling them to preach the gospel and heal the sick. Lest you think this was strictly a calling given only to the apostles, Luke 10:9 tells us he sent out 72 other followers with the same mission and command. There is a whole slew of books out about how to do things with the Dummy label. Writing for dummies; Car mechanics for dummies and so fort...

Pastors are called to the bedsides of people who are sick as a regular part of their ministry. Hospitals are opportunities for genuine ministry and leaders should not take this ministry lightly. There seems to be an absence of training for ministers about how to do hospital visitation. You are God’s representative to the person who is ill. While other professionals bring medical options, the famil...

I’ve got to tell you that of all pastoral responsibilities, expectations, and duties, praying for the sick was my least favorite thing to do as a young pastor. Theologically, my beliefs about healing were all over the map. The New Testament, on the other hand, is pretty aggressive on the subject. Jesus and his followers throughout Acts of the Apostles prayed for the sick and experienced extraordin...

What is a loser’s limp? It is any excuse you use currently to avoid conflict. Perhaps you need to have a discussion with your church board about your salary. Perhaps there is a deacon who is failing to fulfill their responsibilities. Maybe it is a member of your worship team who is engaging in questionable behavior. Many times,  We often hope that the problem will just solve itself. Essentially an...

What is something that just about every minister knows is absolutely essential but finds 100 ways not to do? That is the subject of today's show. Pastors want to do it but don’t. Why is that? 90% of churches throughout the world average out at 85 members. Some build a theology out of this phenomenon and actually teach that God wants small churches. We pastors do church work really well. We pr...

Every church leader pastors or shepherds the people of God. We call church leaders ministers, “reverend,” “priest” and “bishop,” but the most common title of identification is pastor . As you already know, the term pastor is used only once in the New Testament. We find it in Ephesians 4:11-16. Pastor is listed among 5 ministry gifts Jesus imparted to his church after the resurrection. They are apo...

People in your church swing a hammer, go to executive meetings or manage children during the bulk of their working hours. They create houses, fix problems or train children. What do you do? Your assigned task is to communicate with God and then tell people what you’ve heard. People actually get up on their day off, come to our facility, sing a few songs and then settle in to see what God said to y...

Here are 4 easy tweaks to help you create better teaching and preaching