Showing results by narrator "Craig Bagley" in All Categories

Being a leader in Christ’s church is hazardous duty. Many pastors serve in churches where they are respected and honored to an unbiblical degree. Others serve in churches where, despite their genuine love for their people, they are not respected or approved. Church ministry comes with both mountaintop experiences and seasons of discouragement. How can church leaders respond to different perspectives on their leadership and the trials and triumphs of ministry?

In his greatest sermon, Jesus explained to his disciples his own exalted view of Scripture. Then, he demanded that every one of his true followers hold the same view. From Matthew 5:17–20, Tom Pennington shows why a true subject of Jesus' spiritual kingdom will handle Scripture with the same respect he himself did. What Jesus believed and taught about Scripture must shape the faith and practice of every true Christian.

The sixteenth-century Reformation is a monumental period in church history. The gospel of Jesus Christ, which had been obscured in darkness for centuries by the Roman Catholic Church, was brought to light by a powerful act of God. The core doctrines of the Christian faith that had been lost were rediscovered in God’s Word by Martin Luther and the Reformers. But sadly, the church today has drifted once again from these bedrock truths back to dangerous error and ignorance.

From Matthew 23: 1–12, Tom Pennington identifies five key commitments of an effective leader. If you want to be the right kind of leader in Christ’s church and avoid falling prey to deadly ministry blind spots, you must resolve to keep these commitments.

If you preach God’s Word, you long to do so with the same scriptural philosophy and spiritual power that marked the preaching of the apostle Paul. In one brief New Testament passage, Paul explains the unique source of his power. In first-century Corinth, the Greeks highly prized and even idolized the ability to speak intelligently and eloquently. Unfortunately, many in the church in Corinth had embraced those secular standards, even causing serious division in the church.

In Three Hallmarks of a Biblical Church Member, Tom Pennington identifies from Scripture three nonnegotiable hallmarks that every Christian must pursue to be a biblical church member. Tom challenges believers to assess their own involvement in Christ’s church to determine if they are truly biblical members—not only for the health of the church, but for the glory of the One who gave His life for the church, the Lord Jesus Christ.