Ministry Today

John Piper Retires After 30 Years in Pulpit

Published on Tuesday, 08 January 2013 09:35

Written by Eric Tiansay

Best-selling author and pastor John Piper will focus on his writing after preaching his last sermon as senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, where he has served for more than 30 years.

"This is the last message in the series of 30-year theological trademarks, and I am calling it 'sorrowful, yet always rejoicing,' " Piper said from the pulpit Dec. 30. "I believe for these decades this theme and tone has marked us deeply. We are a happy people. But we are not what you might call 'chipper.' There is a plaintive strain in the symphony of our lives. I think Jesus was the happiest man whoever lived. And oh how sorrowful! A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."

Piper, 66, has stepped down from running the church with close to 5,000 weekly attendees, but he still has the passion to write books, preach and tour the country with his Desiring God ministry, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

Leaders Need to Create Worship Culture in Churches

Published on Monday, 07 January 2013 12:00

Written by Buddy Owens

Editor’s Note: Daily during January and February, MinistryTodaymag.com will feature an article from pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren and his staff in conjunction with his new book, What on Earth Am I Here For? Warren is the guest editor for Charisma’s Ministry Today magazine for its January/February issue.

A worshiping church won’t just happen. It starts with a leader who places a high value on personal worship.

I remember only two things about my college biology class: the broken clock that hung on the wall behind my professor’s desk and this definition of culture: “A colony of microorganisms or cells grown in a specially prepared nourishing environment.” Sounds like the church, doesn’t it? Each congregation is a colony—an outpost of the kingdom (to mix metaphors)—that is grown in a specially prepared, nourishing environment. 

Here’s another definition of culture; this one from my sociology class (which, by the way, also had a broken clock hanging behind the professor’s desk): “The values, beliefs, ideas, customs, skills, arts and traditions of a people that are passed along to succeeding generations.” 

That sounds like the church, too.

Kim Martinez: Do You Have a Balanced Ministry?

Published on Monday, 07 January 2013 09:00

Written by Kim Martinez

“You have to have the right tools to do the job right!” Remember your dad telling you this? It might have been when you tried to use pliers to pull out a nail, or a rock to pound it in. Tools make a difficult job easier, and make a rough job look finished.

In ministry, we use tools to help other people, but there are tools that we can use to understand the ministry God put us in, help us determine what our next steps should be, and insure that those next steps get accomplished. This month, I’m going to help you use some basic process tools to take a look at your ministry and set some goals for 2013. To start with, we have a three-part series that will help you, your board and staff lay a firm foundation for the next stage that God is calling you to.

Holiness Precedes Power in the Mature Christian

Published on Friday, 04 January 2013 16:00

Written by Francis Frangipane

What does holiness have to do with your needs? Francis Frangipane reveals the answer from Matthew 3.

According to Scripture, John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit “while yet in his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15, NASB). We are also told his coming was in the spirit and power of Elijah. Historians tell us that John’s penetrating, uncompromising ministry led nearly 1 million people to repentance. Vast multitudes left their cities and towns and went into the wilderness to hear the prophet and be baptized into repentance in preparation for the kingdom of God.

Only Jesus knew the fallen condition of the human heart more perfectly than John. No class of people escaped the Baptist’s judgment: soldiers and kings, sinners and religious leaders alike all were brought into the “valley of decision.” John’s baptism was more than a simple immersion in water. He required a public confession of sins as well as the bringing forth of righteousness (see Matt. 3:6, 8).