What are the core competencies that a pastor must have to be successful?

To answer that question, we need to distinguish between competencies and learning outcomes. Core competencies are general categories of applied knowledge that equip a person for life, while learning outcomes are specific objectives that define what a person can do upon completion of the training. The latter refers to the development of skills to perform certain tasks, while the former refers to the abilities needed across various life contexts.

I know this sounds like a boring blog opener, so how does this apply to pastoral training? Read more…

The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, recently defended the current practice of aggressive immigration enforcement with probably the best explanation I have read of a common evangelical position on immigration.[i] He argued that God ordained four spheres of authority: 1) the individual, 2) the family, 3) the church, and 4) government. It is a popular Christian argument. He, then, argued that God’s instructions regarding the treatment of immigrants in Leviticus 19:34 are addressed to individuals and only apply to individuals. Civil government does not have to obey Leviticus 19:34.

Is he right? Read more…

We talk a lot about measurable outcomes in education today. What outcomes should the students achieve from the program they study? What, then, are the outcomes of pastoral training that will measure success? Seminary training has increasingly focused on transactional pragmatism to attract students to meet the needs of churches. The training is transactional because pastoral ministry emphasizes a transactional agreement between churches and pastors, the pastoral profession. It is pragmatic because the training equips pastors to do what churches want them to do. We train people to perform the functions of the pastoral profession. Read more…

Christmas perfectly epitomizes the blessing principle. Elizabeth tells Mary, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:42). Mary, in her Magnificat, acknowledges that “generations will count me blessed” and praises God for blessing her so that, through her, God could bless the world (Luke 1:46-55). We give gifts to others at Christmas because God has given us the greatest gift of all. We honor others because God has honored us. Christmas reminds us that God’s blessing principle flows through Scripture. Read more…

The word caught my eye. I was reading an interview between Russell Moore and Nicholas Carr in Christianity Today, when Moore used it. He wrote:

One of the things that I’ve noticed for some time now in evangelical Christianity is a group of young men who don’t seem to aspire to be preachers or pastors or even scholars in the way that previous generations would have aspired to those things. They want to be “edgelords” on the internet.[1]

What is an edgelord? Read more…

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the world of reasoning and communication. Anthony Levandowski even created the first Church of Artificial Intelligence called Way of the Future. “What is going to be created will effectively be a god,” he said in an interview.[1] Not only are machines now able to mimic human thought, but generative AI is also creating original content with sometimes catastrophic results. ChatGPT influenced sixteen-year-old Adam Raine to commit suicide.[2] OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, said, “You and I are living through this once-in-human-history transition where humans go from being the smartest thing on planet Earth to not the smartest thing on planet Earth.”[3]

As I’ve watched the explosive growth of AI, I’ve wondered, how will chatbots change our sermon prep? We, pastors, are busy people with many time demands. Chatbots could certainly reduce our sermon prep time so we can fulfill our other pastoral responsibilities. It seems like a good use of a new technological tool.

Why not use AI as a tool to make us more efficient and productive preachers? Read more…

I just finished reading John Mark Comer’s bestselling book, Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus, Become Like Him, Do as he did. Someone had asked me what I thought of the book, so I decided to read it. Spiritual formation is the buzz phrase today in pastoral circles. Many spiritual formation pastors are using Comer’s book to shape the lives of their people, so I knew I should be familiar with the way of life he promoted.

I found him winsome, funny, and likable. The book is easy to read. He has a gift for presenting theology in a popular format. There are some good, practical, and helpful insights about spiritual growth in the book, and I found myself enjoying him even as I reacted skeptically to his underlying doctrines of God, sin, and the gospel. I did find it interesting how little he used the gospels to help us understand Jesus since his whole point was to be like Jesus … but that’s getting into the weeds of a thorough review. Read more…

The election is over. Donald Trump will be the 47^th president of the United States. Many who voted for him are glad, giddy, and gloating. Many who voted against him are sad, anxious, and angry. No matter who we voted for, we know, as Christians, that God is in control. He is sovereign over the affairs of this world. We trust Him, not any human, for our future. Our mission does not change with the changing political administrations.

I have been reading much lately from Daniel, who prophesied in the pagan city of Babylon, and his older contemporary, Jeremiah, who prophesied in the holy city of Jerusalem. Daniel read the prophecies of Jeremiah and gained insight into his role in serving the immoral king, Nebuchadnezzar, who had decimated his homeland (Dan. 9:2). Jeremiah sent a letter to Daniel and the other exiles urging them to serve Babylon well for God had appointed Nebuchadnezzar to rule over Jerusalem … for now (Jer. 29:1). What can we learn from these prophets for our day? Read more…