Pastoral – Lexham Press

Tips for Students Preparing to Learn a Biblical Language

on August 26, 2019

One of the particularly uncomfortable parts of your studies will likely be learning Greek and Hebrew. These classes stand on the horizon like looming mountains for most seminary students, creating a range of emotions from uneasiness to flat-out fear. There are several reasons that students feel apprehensive about learning Greek and Hebrew. Some may question

How to Juggle Ministry While Attending Seminary

on August 20, 2019

Gone are the days when seminary students were solely focused on their education, tucked in the halls of the school wearing their academic regalia with little else than study clamoring for their attention. Today many students have to balance their studies with their roles as full-time pastors, part-time assistants, or lay leaders within their church.

Treat Reading Scripture Like a Daily Core Exercise

on August 15, 2019

Sola Scriptura is not simply a doctrine about the relationship of Scripture and tradition. It is also a rule that applies to the Christian imagination: Scripture alone is the ultimate story from which disciples must take their existential bearings. Scripture alone provides the metaphors, images, and narratives that are the authoritative guides for both thinking

How to Prioritize Your Spiritual Life in Seminary

on August 13, 2019

Most students we come in contact with are excited to learn about Scripture so they may follow God’s call on their lives by encouraging the body of Christ. Vocationally this looks different for various students, but the passion is almost always present. Yet for many students, it doesn’t take long before seminary starts to take

Christian Leadership: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

on August 6, 2019

Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all. (Mark 9:35) It should come as no surprise that the concept of “servant leadership” is commended by both popular Christian leadership writers and professional leadership scholars. I’m afraid, however, that some of the people who most often quote this

Pastor, Guard Yourself Against All Temptation

on July 30, 2019

Since temptation is the front porch of the devil’s strategy to undermine and destroy faith, we need to learn how to handle it strategically. Lead us not into temptation From the time of Adam’s fall, temptation is the common experience of all humanity. Ever since Eden the lust of the eyes, the lust of the

The Pastor’s Desperate Need for the Holy Spirit

on July 2, 2019

You and I are not God. Therefore when Jesus says that his disciples (and their successors in the pastoral office) will do greater works than he (John 14:12), he obviously doesn’t mean that they will do divine works under their own power. Rather, as fully authorized servants of Christ, his ministers are endowed and equipped

Why Reading the Bible Theologically is Vital for Discipleship

on May 21, 2019

To read the Bible rightly is to read it as the word of God with and for the people of God, yesterday and today. This is more radical than it sounds. For more than two hundred years or so, the Bible has been treated in the academy as a document of the university, that is,

Five Ways Church Leaders Can Manage Their Time

on October 3, 2018

A pastor’s schedule is a difficult thing to manage. You are never truly “off.” It seems as if there is always an emergency that must be addressed, a member to be met with, a fire to extinguish, and someone to encourage. Also, you are supposed to write and preach a Scripturally faithful and winsomely delivered

Hope Is as Close as the Risen Christ

on August 29, 2018

This is a guest post by Dr. Daniel Bush. Daniel is pastor of NorthPointe Church in Union, KY, and the author of Live in Liberty: The Spiritual Message of Galatians and Embracing God as Father: Christian Identity in the Family of God. His newest book is Undefended: Discovering God when Your Guard Is Down. Attending