Topic Archives: Church Leadership

The following extract is taken from Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor, pages 249–273.  Note to the reader: before this section, Baxter spends time considering how a minister may winsomely prevail upon his people to submit to being catechised. With this treated of, he proceeds to outline how a shepherd of God’s flock can best carry […]

The following extract is taken from Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor, pages 168–177. The Duty of Personal Catechizing and Instructing the Flock Particularly Recommended Having disclosed and lamented our miscarriages and neglects, our duty for the future lies plain before us. God forbid that we should now go on in the sins which we have […]

I often make the same pastoral mistake. It is not deliberate, it is often well-intentioned, sometimes it is even hopeful. It is this: to presume upon the biblical knowledge of the people to whom I speak. I do not at all mean by this to deliver a backhanded insult, appearing to confess a shortcoming of […]

This review of The Pastor: His Call, Character, and Work first appeared in Ordained Servant: A Journal for Church Officers (2022 edition) published by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The Pastor: His Call, Character, and Work, by Faculty and Friends of ‘Old’ Princeton. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2020, x + 272 pages, $20.00. From time […]

On Sunday morning, August 5, 1855, 21-year-old Charles Haddon Spurgeon stepped behind the pulpit of New Park Street Chapel, London, to challenge his congregation to follow the example of one of the saints who had inspired his ministry, the apostle Paul. ‘As a preacher of the word,’ Spurgeon said of Paul, ‘he stands out pre-eminently […]

The members of First Church (not the real name of the church) consistently made false accusations against one another. They would regularly throw verbal mud at one another. At times, they would even form alliances and fight against one another. Some of their claims were silly. One elder accused a teenager of rebelliously going to […]

‘For the land has become defiled’ – Leviticus 18:24. In Leviticus 18, after Yahweh has given specific instructions through Moses to His covenant people on the various offerings for the atonement of their sins, He switches gears, as it were, and gives a long list of commands concerning sexual conduct. He begins by telling His people […]

At the 2016 Shepherd’s Conference, Al Mohler, Ligon Duncan, and John MacArthur discussed books that have left a lasting impact on their lives and ministries. They pointed out two Banner titles that we have decided to put on sale, through May 12th. Watch the two short videos below to learn why these men speak so […]

We noticed recently a leading religious commentator acknowledging that the West will collapse without a Christian revival. There is no doubt that we are in the midst of a rapid moral decay. He went on to say that the West will fall unless it rises up against the forces that oppose it. But how is […]

One thing I love about Alaska is the pioneering spirit of independence evident in so many people here. ‘Do it yourself’ is just a way of life for many Alaskans. But this mind-set doesn’t carry over very well to a Christian’s relationship to the church. Many Christians have left traditional churches in favour of forming […]

We seem to be in a stalemate in church and state today. Problems are multiplying. The situation becomes more confusing year by year and we are in danger of losing heart: people are at a loss what to do. There is a great deal of activity but where is the substance? Maurice Roberts has said: […]

I have now been in the ministry for 37 years and, looking back, deplore the fact that I have made so many mistakes that could have been prevented, had I known better. On the other hand, by God’s grace alone, I have been blessed with a ministry which has been rewarded in the sense that […]

There are two helps in remembering, first, how the deacon is different from the elder or the pastor-preacher, and second, what the deacons’ duties are. 1. A Three-fold Office The church is the body of Christ, and our Saviour has a three-fold office, and so his body also has a three-fold office. i] Christ is […]

What should a church be looking for when it seeks a pastor? This is a question that should deeply exercise not only elders but every church member. What qualities should a search committee have uppermost in their minds as they look to God to provide them with a man after his own heart? Perhaps before […]

Who is sufficient for the task of spiritual leadership? The man who leads Christ’s flock needs at least two rare qualities: a compassionate heart, and also nerves of steel. No one is well equipped to guide the saints of God on earth unless he has two seemingly contradictory sides to his character. He needs to […]

Who will possibly stay in a relationship with a girl-friend or boy-friend ‘until death us do part’ unless there is a deep devotion to that one person above all others, a commitment that is based on comprehensive knowledge and respect? That is the essence of marriage, leaving all others and cleaving to the other until […]

. . . but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you, whenever I go to Spain – for I hope to see you in passing. (Romans 15:23-24) We know that Saul of Tarsus was a ‘can do’ man […]

The cleverness of the clever I will set aside. (1 Corinthians 1:19) In a church world enamoured with technology, strategy, personality, and hyper-contextualization we would do well to take seriously Paul’s marvellous declaration in 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16. Paul, without question, was a massive intellect, one of the brightest men to ever live, yet he tells […]

And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number. (Acts 5:14) Roland Allen, in his book, The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church 2, puts forth a clear distinction between the way the apostolic church grew and how our churches in the west grow. The church […]

Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory, honour, and power, for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created. (Revelation 4:11.) We are to rejoice in the Lord always. We are to consider everything joy when we encounter various trials. We are to have […]

Martin Holdt, well known as an evangelical and reformed leader in his native South Africa and around the world, went to be with his Lord suddenly on 31 December 2011. This tribute by his son, Jonathan, Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Lyttleton, Pretoria, was given at the Memorial Service for his father on 6 […]

Can women be ordained to Christian ministry? Should they be bishops or hold office as pastor/teachers in the 21st century? These and many other related questions, are being asked and acted upon in an increasingly fluid, controversial, and divisive atmosphere within the professing Christian Church. A fresh appreciation in the light of contemporary church disorder […]

There’s more to the ministry than preaching! We have to shepherd our people – all of them – as well. A. Biblical foundations [1] What it means ‘to shepherd’Two key verses are Acts 20:28 and 1 Peter 5:2, both of which are found in direct addresses to elders. We are to look after the sheep. […]

Do the work of an evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5) . . . speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) . . . through love serve one another (Galatians 5:13). The year 1735 was a remarkable one in the western world.1 In January, while her husband Jonathan was off preaching in other places, the Spirit of […]

I have been constrained to consider the crucial importance of humility in the life of the Christian leader. My friend James has been urging on me the value of meditating on the life of Brownlow North, a major evangelist in northern England, Scotland, and Ireland during 1858 and afterwards1. North was the great torchbearer of […]