Reading Between the Lines

Reading Between the Lines,

or What the Pulpit Committee Really Means:

"We have 246 members on the roll!" means Sunday morning worship attendance ...

A Church Is Not an Audience

A sharp distinction ought to be made between a church and an audience. An audience is a group of unrelated people drawn together by a short-lived attraction. ...

Not My Job

On my first pastorate, I had requested $20 per month from the board to pay someone to mow the lawn and care for the flowers on the church's property.

"The ...

The Need for Common Sense

Every year my alma mater, Princeton Seminary, honors somebody from a previous class. Four or five years ago, they honored a pastor from Seoul, Korea, ...

Shaking and Rattling the Congregation

Pastors who give their congregations only what they want are seldom able to lead them to new heights. If Moses had listened to his congregation and appeased ...

Discerning Good and Bad Pastors

If you want to know the difference between a good and a bad pastor, ask lay persons. They know.

His Laps Too Short to Work for God

In a church in Verona stands, or rather sits, a wooden image of St. Zeno, an ancient bishop, with knees so ludicrously short that there is no lap on which ...

People Who Want Shepherding

People who want to be shepherded tend to stay in the same place.

Open Eyes, Closed Ears

Too often, when leaders open their eyes to a vision, they close their ears to people.

The Minister Never Knows

A minister often thinks he is most effective for God in the pulpit on that Sunday morning when he is preaching an eloquent sermon after hours of preparation. ...