Heaven is multiethnic. Are you ready for that? The Bible tells us that the congregation gathered around God’s heavenly throne will be “a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language,” all singing the praises of the Lamb. God’s intention has always been to delight for all eternity in a redeemed community of ethnic […]
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Podcast: Caring for the Souls of Singles in Urban Contexts
There are more than 100 million single adults in the United States. In 2016, 53% of adults in the United States were unmarried, and 64% of these individuals had never been married. Since an overwhelming percentage of singles are moving into urban contexts, urban congregations must learn to minister effectively with single adults. In this episode of the Urban Ministry Podcast, Lilly Park—professor of biblical counseling at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary—joins me to talk about how churches in the city can help single adults to pursue God’s calling for their lives.
[Read More...]Urban Ministry Podcast: What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Urban Ministry
Ministry is filled with surprises—but the types of surprises you face in ministry will be different, depending on your context. Paul, for example, urged Timothy against “myths and endless genealogies” in Ephesus—but the warning he gave to Titus in Crete was against “empty talkers and deceivers.” This week, our goal is to help you to pay attention to the unique challenges of the context where God has placed you. On today’s episode, Timothy Paul Jones talks with Charles Shannon of The Mission Church about the challenges he’s faced in his first year as an urban church planter.
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Leadership: Followership and the Privilege of Pastoral Leadership
All of us are called to follow someone’s instructions. Effective leadership is not forging a solo path ahead of others; it’s learning to follow the right instructions from the right leader at the right time. Dysfunctions in Christian leadership were typically dysfunctions in followership long before they became dysfunctions in leadership.
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Leadership: What’s the Point of Priesthood in the Church Today?
This post on prophet, priest, and king as leadership typology is excerpted from my book The God Who Goes Before You. You can purchase the book here. Over the past century, several Reformed scholars and church leaders have presented the threefold office of Christ—the munus triplex of prophet, priest, and king—as a typology for church […]
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Leadership: A Disposition toward Submission
This post on suffering and submission in leadership was written with Michael Wilder and is excerpted from our book The God Who Goes Before You: Pastoral Leadership as Christ-Centered Followership. You can order the book here. After a meal with his disciples in the upper room, Jesus made his way to a familiar place (John 18:2) […]
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Leadership: Prophets, Priests, and Kings in the Church Today?
This post on prophets, priests, and kings as leadership typology is excerpted from my book The God Who Goes Before You. You can purchase the book here. Does my personality as a leader land me in the category of prophet, priest, or king? And, if it does, what does that mean for my leadership in the […]
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Leadership: The God Who Goes Before You
Today, The God Who Goes Before You is finally available in bookstores! This book on leadership develops a fresh definition of pastoral leadership that is thoroughly grounded in the storyline and canon of Scripture. As the book unfolds, what Michael Wilder and I have developed together is a vision for the leadership of God’s people […]
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Leadership: Kingly Leadership in the New Covenant
This post is excerpted from my book The God Who Goes Before You: Pastoral Leadership as Christ-Centered Followership.You can order the book here. What does kingship in the Old Testament have to do with church leadership today? Quite a lot, as it turns out—though perhaps not in the way you would assume.
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Leadership: Leadership as Followership in the Life of Moses
This post was written with Michael Wilder and is excerpted from our book The God Who Goes Before You. You can order the book here. Incompetent Leaders, Omnicompetent God The opening verses of Exodus invite readers into a story that stretches backward through Abraham to the very beginning of time. Moses wrote that “the Israelites were […]
[Read More...]Leadership: Leadership as Followership in the Life of Moses
This post was written with Michael Wilder and is excerpted from our book The God Who Goes Before You. You can order the book here. Incompetent Leaders, Omnicompetent God The opening verses of Exodus invite readers into a story that stretches backward through Abraham to the very beginning of time. Moses wrote that “the Israelites were […]
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Leadership: Shepherd Leadership as God-Centered Followership
This post on shepherd leadership is excerpted from my book The God Who Goes Before You. You can order the book here. The Failure of Israel’s Shepherds Have you ever faced a situation where someone did such a poor job on a project that you declared, “I’ll just do it myself”? That’s not too different from […]
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Sermon: The Wisdom that Comes from Peace
“Peace be with you.” Christians all around the world repeat these words every week—but what would our lives look like if peace really was woven into every part of our lives? The book of James provides us with a clue: “The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace,” James writes, “by those who cultivate peace” […]
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Sermon: Learning to Live in Awe
“For this reason,” Paul declared in his letter to the Ephesians, “I fall to my knees before the Father” (3:14). When people fall to their knees in the Bible, we tend to assume that the primary purpose of their prostration is prayer—and that was indeed part of what Paul was expressing here. But that’s not […]
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Family Ministry: When and Why Did Weekly Children’s Classes Begin in Churches? (Part Two)
This research into the history of age-organized ministries in the church is based on an academic paper that I presented to the practical theology section of the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in Providence, Rhode Island, on November 16, 2017. This post is the second in a three-part series. Click here for Part […]
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Family Ministry: When and Why Did Weekly Children’s Classes Begin in Churches? (Part One)
When did age-organized ministries for children begin? If you thought children’s classes didn’t begin until the introduction of Sunday School, you have a lot to learn!
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Leadership: Why Are Leaders Needed if All God’s People Are Priests?
“Everyone in the entire community is holy, and the LORD is among them!” That’s what a band of rebels from the tribes of Reuben and Levi declared when they revolted against Moses and Aaron before going on to demand, “Why then do you exalt yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?” (Numbers 16:3). The rebels were consumed […]
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Leadership: What Does It Mean to Be Christ’s Body?
In a grove of trees south of the city of Corinth stood the Asklepion, an ancient temple dedicated to the god of healing (pictured above). Every year, thousands of women and men made pilgrimages to this temple to seek relief for their bodies. Worshipers who believed that they received healing in this place left behind […]
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Blog: Most-Read Posts of 2016 and Plans for 2017
Around twenty-seven thousand people racked up nearly one hundred thousand views of this blog in 2016. If you were one of them, thank you! Since there are no advertisements on my site, I don’t profit from any of the content. And so, if you’ve profited from what I’ve written, please consider purchasing a book (or two […]
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Leadership: Five Practices that Every Leader Needs
According to Daniel Montgomery and Jared Kennedy, effective leadership calls for the practice of five principles in the life of the leader:
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