Pastors / Leadership

The following characteristics will help us define and recognize the nature of a cult.

As long as a woman feeling led to contribute to a church meeting respects the authority of the pastorate, she can scripturally teach. Also, a married woman would need to agree with her husband about her teaching role to prevent strife and discord in the home. When these two conditions are met, the Bible gives us four reasons women can be leaders in the church.

Discernment is a lost art in the church today. When it comes to teaching, anything goes as long as it sounds good to the hearer. As a result, many Christians are swept away by the winds of heresy since they are unable to stand firm in biblical truth.Why is this such a serious case in the body of Christ today? One reason I believe discernment is lacking amongst Christians has to do with the lack of biblical literacy. In other words, Christians don’t know their Bible! While they may know their favorite verses, passages, and stories, they lack comprehension due to insufficient time in the Scriptures and taking the text out of context.Another reason is due to the presence of false teachers today. Scripture makes it clear that false teachers have crept into the body of Christ today (Jude 4) and that professing believers will fall away from the faith and “follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). Sadly, many well-meaning Christians are deceived because they’ve grown accustomed to messages that have little to no biblical basis. For that reason, they are more entertained than properly equipped in light of these messages preached from the pulpit. And preachers who deliver these kinds of teachings today must give account to God, for which they will be judged more severely (James 3:1).That being said, I will spend the duration of this article sharing what discernment entails and four tips Christians can use to cultivate discernment against false teaching.Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/allanswart

Every church has its own culture.I’ve seen lots of different cultures while consulting and working with churches for over a decade.Regardless of what some believe—there are some healthy churches.And there are some who are not so healthy.It always breaks my heart to encounter a church that is ready to implode. Frankly, some churches live in that tension continually. Some cultures are dangerous—toxic even.Sadly, according to numerous statistics, more churches are in decline or have plateaued than are growing. Certainly, not all growing churches are healthy. I would never define a “healthy” church exclusively as growing church. I do believe, however, most healthy churches will eventually grow.Some of that health in a church depends on the culture of the church. How do people respond to church leadership? How do they respond to each other? How do they react to change? How are decisions made? What upsets people most? What is the atmosphere—the mood—of the church during the week and on Sunday? How does the church treat vocational staff?All those are usually relative to and indicative of church culture.So, I decided to post about some of the more dangerous church cultures I have observed. Most likely you’ll have some of your own to share.Here are 7 of the Most Dangerous Church CulturesImage Credit: ©Unsplash/isaac-ordaz

Here are the top 20 most popular Bible verses from recent rankings. Let these popular Bible verses spark your curiosity to learn more, and inspire you to read the Bible regularly.

Editor's Note: Pastor Roger Barrier's "Ask Roger" column regularly appears at Preach It, Teach It. Every week at Crosswalk, Dr. Barrier puts nearly 40 years of experience in the pastorate to work answering questions of doctrine or practice for laypeople, or giving advice on church leadership issues. Email him your questions at [email protected] Roger, What do you think about gay marriage? I’d like your take on the issue.Dear The Many Who Have Asked Me About Gay Marriage,First, let me say that my wife Julie and I disagree about some of the things that I intend to share. That’s okay. There are many ways to look at this issue. She thinks one way; I think another way. And we both think we’re right.These are the eight perspectives from which I look at this important, charged topic.Photo Credit:©Getty Images/Geoff Goldswain

We must decide: Either God calls pastors as leaders or He doesn’t. How we decide that determines a thousand things about how we will follow his leadership.

Here are seven “wrong ideas” the spiritually immature – those given to “hissy fits,” as my friend put it – have about the Lord’s work.

What would you say to someone who states that they can't “help” their homosexuality? I’m thinking of someone who believes that they were born that way and that they can't help the way they feel. I'm always at a loss for words when this comes up, and I don't know exactly where to point them in Scripture.

The sin of greed can be defined as the excessive desire to acquire something. The most familiar form of greed pertains to material wealth.

Ministry scars. Everyone in the Lord’s service will bear them sooner or later.

Hypocrisy has been listed as a leading reason young people are abandoning the Church or being turned off by the Christian faith. Here are 10 ways that we should respond when people say, “Christians are a bunch of hypocrites!”

Being a mentor and having a mentee is one of the most spiritually satisfying ways of serving God and His children. The primary goal is to build a trusting relationship between two people.

If you live in a community with active duty military families but have never been a part of the military yourself it can be difficult to know how to support them. You may want to meet their unique needs but don’t know where to begin. The military family makes unique sacrifices to defend the freedoms that we all enjoy and a little bit of effort to encourage and support them goes further than you may ever know. So what can you do? Here are ten ways, among many, to show your support to military families: Jeremy Stalnecker is the Director of Mighty Oaks Warrior Programs. He served as a USMC Infantry Officer in Operation Iraqi Freedom and then became a pastor when he returned to civilian life. Through Mighty Oaks, Jeremy has brought together his ministry experience and military background to serve and minister to many hurting veterans, service members and their families. Jeremy, his wife Susanne and their four children live in Central California. www.mightyoaksprograms.org

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In a time when less and less Christians are reading the Bible, how can we learn it well and pass on what we've learned to others? These tools aid biblical literacy in individual and church settings.

Dear Roger,I am so excited about going to heaven. I am ready for the rapture. I hope it comes right now! But I don’t know enough about heaven. Can you fill in some of the details for me?Sincerely,JulieDear Julie,There are ten common questions I hear all the time from people who are seeking to know more about heaven. I’ve collected them here, along with some biblical answers and practical application. I hope they’re helpful for you!Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/grakozy

It’s remarkable how the example of manliness in Jesus is so very different from the manly stereotype. Let’s explore three ways in which Jesus set an example of true manliness.

Thanks to continued exposure of the mental illness epidemic in our country—if not the world—and the promotion of mental health care, more people are coming to terms with this disease as being more common than not and expressing more positive views about it.Yet, sadly, there are still those who think negatively about those with a mental illness. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2019 poll, around 33% of those surveyed agreed with the statement, “People with mental health disorders scare me,” and 39% said, “they would view someone differently if they knew [they] had a mental health disorder.”Mental health is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life. But usually, when a person hears the term “mental health,” depression immediately comes to mind. And they aren’t wrong. Depression was the leading mental health disorder in America in 2021, with 57.8 million reported sufferers (one in every five persons). That’s up from 18.5% in 2019. Granted, the uptick is most likely attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.Regardless, mental health cases continue to rise in America, although our country ranks 29th in the international rating of depressive countries, with a suicide rate of 16.1 per 100,000 people. According to the World Health Organization, in 2019, one in every eight people in the world (970 million) lived with a mental disorder, with depression and anxiety being the most common.As someone who suffers from depression, I fall into that “one in every five persons” category, and, honestly, I can attest to the fact that I have been viewed differently by some once they find out. One can feel discriminated against, which is why I tend to disclose my diagnosis only when necessary. And for this article, it’s necessary, because it’s important that people—including believers—take mental illness seriously. Maybe even more so today than in any other time in our history.But how?Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Prostock-Studio

To many, Tim Keller was proof that you could be a Christian, an intellectual, and a redemptive presence in cities. What made him so iconic?

The battle is real. The Enemy is constantly on the prowl looking for ways to fill your mind with subtle lies in order to gain access at the table of fellowship God has prepared for you. It’s a table described famously in Psalm 23 intended only for the Lord and you to dine. But this table isn’t set in a beautiful, peaceful meadow. No, as verse five states, it’s a table placed in the presence of your enemies. They see you seated there with the King of the Universe, and they want a piece of the action. The Enemy will do anything to slide into a seat and begin to tell you lies that will make you doubt your rightful place at the table, or try to convince you that there are better options elsewhere. But, when the Devil is whispering lies in your ear, you need to know Jesus is there with you in the midst of the temptation and pressure. He’s there to rescue you when necessary, to protect you at all costs, and to fill your cups to over-flowing.With all of his conniving and deceiving, it can be hard to recognize the Enemy’s voice for what it is. It’s important to be able to spot the enemy’s lies—not so you can focus on the lies, but so you can avoid them and fix your gaze back toward the Good Shepherd. While there are seemingly countless lies the Enemy can tell you, I’ve found that most of them fall into five broader categories. And if you are able to spot them as they’re coming your direction, you can overcome them and win the battle for your mind with truth in Jesus’ name.