Pastor Matters

Who was Charles Spurgeon and what makes him relevant today? What are some specific lessons pastors can learn from Spurgeon and years of his ministry? Join Ronjour and Brandon this week as they sit down with Dr. Alex DiPrima to discuss important pastoral lessons church leaders can learn from observing Charles Spurgeon. Learn more about the Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership by visiting ww...

Why is delegation in ministry so important? What are some examples of delegation taking place in the Bible? How does delegation in ministry affect the pastor's health? Join Ronjour and Brandon this week as they discuss the importance of delegation in ministry. Learn more about the Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership by visiting www.pastorscenter.org/.

How do you know if your church is in decline? What are some reasons churches face decline? What are some solutions that can revive declining churches? How can pastors in declining churches stay encouraged? Join Ronjour and Brandon this week as they discuss how to pastor a church in decline with Matt Henslee (Associational Mission Strategist for the Collin Baptist Association). Learn more about the...

What does Christian leadership look like? What does it mean for leaders to be known as workers for joy? Is it a mistake to view the qualifications as prerequisites for church leadership? Join Ronjour and Brandon this week as they sit down with Dr. David Mathis (Pastor at Cities Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota) to discuss his new book, Workers for Your Joy: The Call of Christ on Christian Leaders....

What is a succession plan? What should churches consider when putting together a plan for succession? What are some signs the transition among leaders is going well? Join Brandon this week as he sits down with Bryant Wright and Clay Smith to discuss ministry transitions and their succession story at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. Learn more about Bryant's and Clay's succession story by purchasing t...

What is the goal of theology? How does thinking about God lead to greater enjoyment of God? How should we treat those we disagree with over theological matters? Join Ronjour and Brandon this week as they sit down with Dr. Ronni Kurtz (Assistant Professor of Theology at Cedarville University) to discuss his new book, Fruitful Theology: How the Life of the Mind Leads to the Life of the Soul. Check o...

When should pastors consider leaving their current role for another ministry opportunity? How can pastors lead their families well when transitioning to a new ministry role? What does it look like for a pastor to finish well before leaving? Join Ronjour and Brandon this week as they discuss ministry transitions with Dr. Jordon Willard (First Baptist Church of Weddington). Learn more about the Cent...

Ronjour and Brandon conclude their series highlighting the importance of theological education by having a conversation on pastors and biblical counseling with Dr. Tate Cockrell (Associate Professor of Counseling at SEBTS). Do pastors typically receive adequate training in counseling? How can pastors shepherd victims of abuse? When should pastors consider receiving counseling of their own? Join us...

Brandon discusses the important role the biblical languages play in studying and teaching the Scriptures with Robb Coleman and Jeremy Robbins. What are some specific examples of how beneficial the languages are in studying the Bible? What are pastors missing when they don’t have a working knowledge of the languages? Why is there value in learning the languages in community? Join us this week as we...

In this episode, Brandon sits down with Keelan Cook (Instructor of Missiology) and Anna Daub (Director of Special Projects and Partnerships) to discuss theological education, global missions, and how churches fulfill the Great Commission. Should someone who desires to serve on the mission field be theologically trained? What should a pastor do if a member begins to express interest in serving over...

Ronjour and Brandon discuss the importance of theological education in student ministry with Dr. Scott Pace (Dean of The College at Southeastern). Why should aspiring student pastors pursue seminary training? What are some steps that can be taken by student pastors to make their ministry more theologically driven? How do we get rid of this idea that student ministry is a steppingstone into the sen...

Ronjour and Brandon continue their series highlighting theological education by having a discussion on pastors and ethics with Dr. Mark Liederbach (Senior Professor of Theology, Ethics and Culture at SEBTS). What is the goal of ethics? How can pastors help their people develop an ethical framework in the church? What are some pressing ethical issues we are currently facing in our culture? Join us...

Ronjour and Brandon discuss the importance of theology in the life of a pastor with Dr. Keith Whitfield (Associate Professor of Theology & Provost at Southeastern). How does theology shape the pastor’s preaching? Is theology supposed to unite us? How should we think through and adopt certain theological positions? What are some characteristics of a good theologian? Join us this week as we tack...

Dr. Chuck Lawless is back again! This week, he joins Ronjour and Brandon to help kick off our brand new series on theological education! Over the next few weeks, we will be featuring Southeastern faculty, students, and alumni to help discuss some of the major topics discussed in seminary. Where is theological education going? What should the partnership between seminaries and local churches look l...

Ronjour and Brandon talk pastors and spiritual warfare with Dr. Chuck Lawless (VP of Spiritual Formation at Southeastern). What does the Bible tell us about spiritual warfare? How do we discern what is spiritual warfare and what isn’t? What is the enemy’s endgame when it comes to spiritual warfare and believers? Join us this week as we tackle these questions (and many more)!

Ronjour and Brandon sit down with Isaac Adams (Pastor of Iron City Church) to discuss his new book Talking About Race: Gospel Hope for Hard Conversations. What makes having conversations on/about race so difficult? Is social media the right place to have these conversations? Where should the starting point be with these conversations? Join us this week as we tackle these questions (and many more)!

Art Rainer is back again to discuss pastors and their church’s finances. Should pastors be the financial experts in their church? Should churches accumulate debt for building/expansion? Should pastors have access to the giving records of their members? What resources can pastors use to help their members steward their finances well? Join us this week as we tackle these questions (and many more)!

Brandon sits down with Dr. Art Rainer (Vice President for Institutional Advancement at SEBTS) to discuss how pastors can steward their finances well. Why is it important for pastors to steward their finances well? What are some common financial mistakes pastors make? Why is it important for pastors to save for retirement? Is accumulating debt wrong? Join us this week as we tackle these questions (...

Ronjour and Brandon discuss the importance of preaching the gospel to yourself. What does it mean to preach the gospel to yourself? What examples do we see in Scripture? What impact does the gospel have on the pastor’s identity? How can pastors encourage other pastors serving in ministry? How can pastors endure difficult seasons in ministry? Join us as we tackle these questions (and many more)!

In this week's episode of Pastor Matters, Ronjour and Brandon discuss pastors and addressing current events with special guest Nathaniel Williams (Pastor of Cedar Rock FBC). How should pastors assess when to address and how to address major events that occur either nationally or internationally to their church? What are some dangers when it comes to addressing current events from the pulpit? Join...

In this week’s conversation, Brandon sits down with Dr. Dwayne Milioni (Senior Pastor of Open Door Church of Raleigh) to discuss pastoral internships. Why should churches consider having a pastoral internship program for aspiring pastors? What should pastors include in their church’s internship program? How can pastors identify potential interns? Join us this week as we tackle these questions (and...

In this week’s episode, Ronjour and Brandon are joined by Dr. Andrew Hébert (Pastor of Paramount Baptist Church in Amarillo, TX) to discuss pastors and character. Why is character so important in pastoral ministry? Should the pastor’s character be a higher priority than his preaching? How can pastors shepherd with character on social media? Join us this week as we tackle these questions (and many...

In this week's episode of Pastor Matters, Brandon is joined by Dr. Dwayne Milioni to discuss the importance of church membership. What role do church members play in a local church? Does the absence of conflict indicate unity within a church? What role does church discipline play in maintaining and promoting health in a local church? Join us this week as we tackle these questions (and many more)!

In this week’s episode of Pastor Matter, Ronjour and Brandon discuss the importance of equipping members in a local church. How does preaching equip members in a local church? How should pastors measure success? Why is it important to equip members through small groups, discipleship classes, and workshops? Find out this week as we tackle these questions (and many more)!

In this week’s episode of Pastor Matters, Ronjour and Brandon discuss the importance of a meaningful membership process. What is meaningful membership? What does a comprehensive membership process look like? How long should the membership process take? What are some essentials to include in a membership class? Join us this week as we tackle these questions (and many more)!