Ministry today

 In 1981 I was called to be the pastor of a small, rural church. For several years I functioned much like the pastors I had growing up. Our challenges were about the same as the churches in which I was raised. My sermons were probably very similar to those I had heard growing up. In time I began addressing some of the social issues that my pastors would have avoided, and when 9/11 occurred I realized ministry, like the rest of life, would be forever changed. However, at the time I could not have realized how much it would change because at the time I doubt that many of us understood how much our world would change. Today's churches must be able to speak to issues previous generations never faced. Failing to do that makes us irrelevant to the culture in which we live.

A few months ago I published an eBook that addresses some of those issues. In Is Your Church Ready for Ministry in the Coming Decade? I focus on some of the challenges today's church must address if it is to reach our generation. Some of these are not new, racism, poverty, mental illness, for example. While these are not new, they are issues much of the church has largely ignored. Other issues I write about in the book are newer challenges for the church such as gender dysphoria, sexual issues, the rising number of suicides, the growing violence in our society, and several others. In the book I try to help the reader understand why it's important for the church to understand each issue and suggest ways to address them in a positive, biblical manner.

These issues are tearing families apart and causing untold damage to individuals. Society presents its worldview to each of these topics; the church must present a biblical worldview to them as well. Yet, studies find that many churches never speak to any of them. We often act as if these issues don't exist. Even thinking about preaching on many of them makes pastors uncomfortable. The worldview of our culture is being heard. Do not the people in our congregations and communities deserve to hear what the Bible has to say about each of them even if it makes us uncomfortable?

The problem with publishing an eBook is it can get lost in the tens of thousands of such books published every year. This book is finding an audience because it is helping pastors and individual Christians understand how to speak to these difficult issues. You can order it for your Kindle device for only $6.95.