Latest Read...

I just finished reading this great compilation by Wayne Grudem & Dennis Rainey today. Pastoral Leadership for Manhood and Womanhood is a great practical resource for pastors. In a day and age when the family suffers greatly, and often silently, this book challenges pastors to re-ignite their God-ordained responsibilities and lead their flock as they should. Taking contributions from some of today's well-known authors in Christianity, Grudem and Rainey divide the book into three sections: The Pastor's Personal Life, The Opportunities Today and The Challenges Today.

The Pastor's Personal Life:
This section deals with two matters that need intense magnification in the majority of today's minister's lives: the Pastor's Marriage and the Pastor's Responsibility for Romance in His Congregation and Marriage.

The Opportunities Today:
This section covers such topics as:

• The Little Things that Build or Destroy Marriages
• Using Small Groups: The Key Strategy for Building Stronger Marriages
• Cultivating a Man-Friendly Church
• Single Adults in Your Ministry: Why They Stay and Why They Stray
• Father Hunger Among a Lost Generation: The Pastor's Opportunity
• The Marriage Ceremony: A Cornerstone in Building Godly Families
• Church Discipline: God's Tool to Preserve and Heal Marriages

The Challenges Today:
This section covers such topics as:

• How to Encourage Husbands to Lead and Wives to Follow
• Church Ministry to Persons Tempted by Homosexuality
• "Someone I Love is Gay": Church Ministry to Family and Friends
• Helping Single Adults Handle Moral Failures
• Pastoral Responses to Domestic Violence
• Standing Courageously in Your Home, Church and Community

I like this book because each and every one of the authors falls back to the authoritativeness of Scripture, applies Scripture practically and plainly and gives wonderful practical suggestions to follow for the reader.

I think this is a must read for all pastors. Need a Christmas gift idea for your pastor? Get him a copy of Pastoral Leadership for Manhood and Womanhood. It is an easy read - but will challenge him in the difficult areas of ministry: from his own marriage to the lives of his people.

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Today was extremely dreary in Northeast Indiana. A lot of mist, rain and some snow mixed in kept everything damp and bone-chillingly cold. A fire built in the fireplace and some Mocha Java kept nearby helped ward off Jack Frost's grip. Winter is slowly elbowing its way in.

On a side note for a future post: We got our Christmas tree and decorated it this last weekend. Pictures are sure to follow. And I haven't given up on Psalm 15 - more to come this week!