Lead Archives - Page 5 of 7 - Timothy Paul Jones

Leadership: The Past, the Present, and the Possibilities in Online Theological Education

4th January 2016

I have never been a traditional college student. I’ve earned three degrees but never once lived on a college or seminary campus, and I’ve worked forty hours a week or more while earning every one of my degrees. In the process, I’ve witnessed a momentous shift in higher education—a movement from on-campus education in fall […]

Family Ministry: Three Truths and Three Tips for Engaging with Families in Your Church

16th September 2015

The animated feature The Incredibles is a favorite movie in our household—and one of our favorite scenes is the family meal early in the film. Dinner at the Parr household has deteriorated into pandemonium. The infant squeals in delight at the chaos as two siblings engage in super-powered combat. A frazzled mom strains unsuccessfully to […]

Leadership: Three Crucial Priorities for Shepherd Leaders

30th July 2014

This post adapted and abridged from The God Who Goes Before You, by Michael S. Wilder and Timothy Paul Jones (Nashville: B&H, forthcoming). ________ A couple of years ago, an individual who thought he might be called to pastoral ministry informed me, “I love to teach, and I want to preach—but I can’t stand people.” […]

Family Ministry: Learning to Do Less So That Parents Can Do More

28th July 2014

Parents in your ministry don’t have time to disciple their children—or, at least, that’s the way many of them feel when they look at their weekly to-do lists. According to recent research in the field of family ministry, half of all church-involved parents have simply resigned themselves to the notion that their families are too […]

Family Ministry: In Praise of Inefficiency

24th July 2014

I saw something beautiful the other day while walking down Breckenridge Lane. In a front yard not far from my home, a young mother was removing a layer of leftover leaves from the fall in preparation for planting spring flowers—an ordinary activity in the middle of an ordinary day. What was extraordinary about this scene […]

Leadership: Becoming a Church That Both Stays and Sends

29th May 2014

A look at Sojourn Community Church

Family Ministry: Three Motivations to Avoid

9th April 2014

Jason K. Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has written recently on various facets of parenting. He encourages parents to avoid three specific motivations: ambition, fear and pride. He concludes: Parenting is the most enjoyable and exhilarating responsibility I know. I feel as though I am getting to create, invest, sculpt, build, and nurture […]

Family Ministry: Training to Launch Your Church’s Family Ministry

2nd April 2014

Have you ever wondered how to promote a family ministry model in your church? Perhaps you’re just curious about what family ministry is all about. Whether you’re ready to dive in or just testing the waters, RightNow Media and I have partnered together to provide a practical online course to help those who might […]

Family Ministry: How Paul’s Teachings About the Family Apply Today

31st March 2014

Not long ago, I shared with Christianity.com some thoughts about how Christians can apply Paul’s teaching in their homes. Paul established a priority-changing paradigm for marriages and families in Ephesians 5 and 6. He invited parents to view their task not simply as behavioral management but as gospel proclamation, viewing their children not only as […]

Family Ministry: How Pastors Can Care for Their Children

24th March 2014

Chap Bettis, executive director of The Apollos Project, previously wrote on ways in which church members can participate in the task of helping pastors shepherd their children. In a recent post, he directly engages pastors and offers practical ways to help them guard their children from church burnout and instill in them a love for the gospel […]

Family Ministry: Caring for Your Pastor’s Kids

18th March 2014

Chap Betts, executive director of The Apollos Project, provides a grace-saturated way to encourage your pastor and minister to his children. He states: “Too many children of pastors are casualties in the spiritual battle. After seeing the inner workings of the church, many do not want anything to do with the Lord or his people. […]

Family Ministry: Is Your Story Line Too Small?

17th February 2014

Certain skills may be helpful in a child’s Christian formation—but, when it comes to parents discipling their children, the task is not primarily about the skills; it’s about a divinely-designed relationship. The church may remind me to engage spiritually with my daughters. Ministers, elders, or deacons might even equip my wife and me to disciple […]

Family Ministry: Growth, Retention, and Gospel-Motivated Ministry

10th February 2014

Sometimes, when a ministry makes much of Jesus and the gospel, the results do include numeric gains or stellar retention rates. Seven weeks after Jesus erupted alive from a garden tomb, three thousand women and men confessed Jesus as the risen Lord, and the congregation still kept growing (Acts 2:41–47). Before long, well over five […]

Family Ministry: Building a Biblical Model for Your Church’s Family Ministry

30th December 2013

So what does it mean to build a family ministry model for your church? And how can we be certain our model is biblical? Taking a moment to consider the meaning of a “model” in other fields of study may be helpful here. In other fields of study, a model must meet three criteria: (1) […]

Family Ministry: When Inviting Parents Isn’t Enough

23rd December 2013

How can your ministry equip parents with the resources they need? In the first place, help parents to see that if they are believers in Jesus Christ, God has already equipped them with his Spirit, his Word, and the community of faith (John 16:12–14; Eph. 4:11–16; 2 Tim. 3:16–17; Heb. 13:21). Through these gifts from […]

Family Ministry: Why Going Far Requires Us First to Go Near

16th December 2013

Family ministry is not a series of activities. Family-equipping ministry in particular flows out of an identity that begins in the homes of ministry leaders. But this doesn’t mean that equipping families should become the identity that drives our ministry. Jesus alone is our identity, and his gospel is our story. Anything more or less […]

Family Ministry: Stop Inviting and Start Involving

9th December 2013

Without thinking too hard, you could probably tell me exactly who they are. In many smaller and mid-sized ministries, you wouldn’t even need two hands to tally them. What we’re talking about are the parents who will actually be present at a typical youth or children’s event. What about all the other parents? Well, like […]

Family Ministry: What Happens When Youth Ministers Work With Parents?

6th December 2013

John Pond is pastor of students at West Jackson Baptist Church in Jackson, Tennessee recently provided some engaging thoughts on the value of youth ministers working with parents. He offers four practical things youth ministers can start doing to communicate and work with parents. He encourages youth ministers to (1) communicate regularly, (2) pray with […]

Family Ministry: Family Ministry is Not the Answer to Your Church’s Problems

2nd December 2013

Although the concepts behind family ministry are far from new, church-based family ministry has turned trendy in some circles over the past few years. After decades on the back burner of congregational life, family ministry has suddenly become a hot topic. Type “family ministry” into a search engine, and you computer is likely to crank […]

Family Ministry: Do Parents Take Over Where You Left Off?

25th November 2013

The youth head to camp, or a retreat or perhaps a mission trip. When they return, they’re sleep-deprived, hyper-caffeinated, and ready to change the world. But beyond the babbling summary that mom or dad receives on the car-ride home, parents have little idea what triggered such enthusiasm during the week. What information they do receive […]