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Sunday A La Carte

Every now and again I collect more good articles than I can share in a week’s worth of A La Carte. When that happens I like to create a Sunday edition. And that’s exactly what I am doing today since I didn’t want to miss sharing any of it. So here we go…

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How to really encourage your pastor

Ian Carmichael offers some counsel on how to really encourage your pastor. “Here’s the main point I want to make: there is no such thing as a dispassionate pastor. Can a pastor really feel no emotion about the welfare of his people?” I sure hope not…

Family Partners: Men and Women Serving Together in God’s Church

Denise Hardy reflects on many years spent serving on staff at churches, often as the only female staff member. “There are examples in the scriptures of men and women working alongside one another for the sake of the gospel. We should want to follow the model given to us. How can we do this? What keeps us from doing this? We need a theological vision of brothers and sisters working shoulder-to-shoulder for the sake of the gospel.”

How Do You Resurrect an Empty Church?

I don’t often link to articles on Slate, but in this case I was interested in their look at a quickly growing number of empty church buildings across America. “It is a story replaying over and over in cities across the United States, where older churches have been hammered by neighborhood change and maintenance costs, coinciding with a national trend of plummeting religious attendance across faiths.” We see this happening all across Canada as well.

What Does Ecclesiastes 1:2 Mean?

We all know that Ecclesiastes is awfully concerned with “vanity.” But what exactly is bound up in that word? And what makes it so important?

Should Our Joy Depend on Our Circumstances?

“When I was a young pastor, a church elder detected my discouragement one day and gently said, ‘It will look better in the morning.’ This simple advice has helped me countless times since. Often after I’ve experienced a good night’s sleep and a brisk run, God has felt nearer, my problems smaller, the solutions clearer, and my future brighter.”

Why you should recycle your sermons

Stephen encourages pastors to feel free to recycle their sermons rather than preparing a new one for each occasion.


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    A La Carte (November 21)

    A La Carte: Lessons from Trump’s and Harris’s social media campaigns / What is my spiritual gift? / The messages we receive / 10 mistakes I’ve made in preaching / Big Kindle and book sales / and more.

  • Finn

    I’m a Grandfather!

    Yesterday Abby and Nathan welcomed their first child into the world: Finnegan Safir Nicholas Elfarrah. Because they live just minutes away, Aileen and I were able to be there shortly after his birth to rejoice with them and to meet our first grandchild. We are thrilled beyond measure. And he is cute beyond belief. They…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 20)

    A La Carte: Pray till you pray / Do children need to consent to puberty? / Pleading for Sodom / A thought experiment / 10 mistakes when reading the Bible / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 19)

    A La Carte: Good night, my son / The longing for justice following sexual assault / Daughter of encouragement / Mistakes I made as a theological student / The dangers of disordered love / Kindle deals / and more.

  • What Grieves the Heart of God

    What Grieves the Heart of God?

    What pleases God? What delights his heart? And what displeases God? What grieves his heart? If asked, I think most of us would assume that if we ever grieve the heart of God it will be through denying the gospel or committing a grave moral scandal. Or if we do so as a local church,…