In Preaching Articles: "Pastor Encouragement"

Why Every Sermon Should Be A Life-Changing Sermon

By Paul David Tripp on Oct 20, 2025

This will probably get me into trouble: I’m persuaded that there’s too much mediocrity in the church when it comes to pastors preparing and delivering their sermons.

Tags: Preaching, preaching

The Supreme Court Fight And Your Church: What To Say In This Divided Time

By Ed Stetzer on Oct 11, 2024

This weekend, the United States Senate is scheduled to vote to confirm President Trump’s nomination of Judge Kavanaugh...As a pastor, how should you respond?

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Secrets To Sermons On Giving

By Bob Russell on Jan 8, 2025

Stewardship preaching doesn’t have to repel people. With timing, tone, and practical teaching, pastors can address money biblically and help believers grow in generosity.

Scripture: Mark 10:21

Tags: Faith, Money, Healing, Giving, Stewardship, Power, preaching, Church Leadership, election, Tithing, Labor, Giving General, Christian Giving, church leadership, Preaching, miracles, Funeral, Generosity, Homosexuality, Tithes  (view more)  (view less)

What I've Learned Preaching With Parkinson’s Disease

By Tom Teichmann on May 14, 2020

"For the past seven years I have been living with Parkinson's Disease (PD), and my church has been living with a pastor who is living with PD."

Tags: Preaching, disease, disability, Improve, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Does Preaching Really Matter?

By Lance Witt on Sep 12, 2019

Like most pastors, I will never forget the first sermon I preached. Basically, we had to hold people at gun point to get them to listen . . .

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:21, 2 Timothy 4:2, 1 Corinthians 9:16

Tags: Preaching, God's Power, Bartimaeus, calling

When You Feel Hopeless As A Leader

By Josh Reich on Jun 14, 2023

At some point as a leader, you will feel hopeless. As a pastor it will more than likely happen after the weekend. It is hard to keep hope alive all the time as a leader.

Tags: Preaching, leaders, preaching

Seven Relational Skills Of Great Church Leaders

By SermonCentral .com on Mar 12, 2021

Most pastors and church leaders have never received formal training in relational skills. Perhaps these seven observations of outstanding leaders will prove helpful to many of you.

Tags: leadership, Prayer Life, Family Relationships, prayer life, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

How Leadership Capacity Affects The Growth And Health Of A Church

By Josh Reich on Oct 5, 2023

Now, we all know that God is the one who grows a church, but often that church is healthy and growing because of the character, quality and capacity of the lead pastor and leaders.

Tags: leadership, Discipline, leadership capacity, coaching, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

5 Ways Ministry Leaders Start The Journey To Failure

By Ron Edmondson on Aug 1, 2022

One of the hardest things I do in ministry is interact with those who are no longer in ministry, but wish they were. They’ve been derailed. They messed up and either they got caught or the guilt got the best of them and they confessed. Watching this process over the years there appear to be some common reasons failure occurs. It doesn’t start at the failure. It starts months – and, perhaps years – prior. My hope is if we expose some of them we can catch a few people before it is too late.

Tags: leadership, e, Leadership, pastoral leadership, avoiding trouble, avoiding burnout, church ministry, Leadership Failure, Exposing Blindspots  (view more)  (view less)

Six Details To Include In Your Church Staff Bios

By SermonCentral .com on Jul 14, 2022

When we talk with first-time guests about church websites, many of them share their surprise that the website fails to include bios or any information other than a name for the church staff.

Tags: Digital Strategy, Executive Pastor, Church Bio, connect, Healthy Church, Connect, Clarity, church ministry, Church Website  (view more)  (view less)

3 Ways To Collaborate In Sermon Preparation

By Joe Hoagland on Aug 5, 2022

Have you ever considered how you might collaborate in sermon prep?

Scripture: Joshua 1:1

Tags: teaching, sermon prep, working together, collaboration, Teaching Prep, Sermon Prep, preaching, Teaching, Preaching, Pastoral Ministry  (view more)  (view less)

Handling A Hurricane… Part 1

By Lance Witt on Nov 10, 2023

It is going to happen. Take it to the bank. You can count on it. Someone on your team or in your organization will have a disastrous moral failure. So how do your prepare?

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 5:12

Tags: leadership, conflict management, Leadership, Pastoral Ministry, disasters, church ministry, Leadership Failure, Moral failure, Church Crisis  (view more)  (view less)

Handling A Hurricane Part 3

By Lance Witt on May 6, 2024

In a storm, it is helpful to have a plan, but it is even more important to have clear, decisive leadership in the midst of everything being blown apart.

Tags: Leadership Failure, Relational Dynamics, Leadership, Perseverance, leadership, resolving conflict, pastoral leadership, overcoming sin, church ministry  (view more)  (view less)

What If We Made Disciples And Left Church Growth To God?

By Karl Vaters on Sep 6, 2022

If we prioritized health, not as a means to growth, but as an end in itself, would we be in a greater position to represent Jesus to the world?

Tags: great commission, pastoral leadership, church ministry, Growth Strategy, Equip the Saints, Discipleship, Church Growth, Make Disciples  (view more)  (view less)

Liquid Teams

By Lance Witt on Nov 28, 2023

What are the makings of an exceptional team?

Scripture: Ephesians 4:16

Tags: Leadership, team building, pastoral leadership, church ministry, church leadership, Team Dynamics, e, leadership, strategy, Teamwork  (view more)  (view less)