Pencils & Paper for Pastors

I've been diving deeper into the world of notebooks, pencils, and pens lately in order to rework how I use some tools for daily tasks, projects, note-taking, journaling, etc. I'm always tweaking something, but I realized I was in a slump and needed some changes. I'm working on a lengthy post about pencils and how I'm geeking out on them right now. I think they are often taken for granted and underappreciated. I think they are remarkable and handy and enjoyable. And my pencil discoveries have put me in a generous mood. I'm giving away some pencils. 

But I want to do more than just give some pencils away. I want to give you something to write in. Something beautiful to write in.

I use Field Notes brand of notebooks every day. I keep one in my left front pocket. The newest edition of Field Notes, which is still available to buy, is just lovely and I want to get some in your hands. It's the Ambition limited edition Field Notes. They have gilded pages, beautiful covers, and useful formats (explained below). When I knew I wanted to do a pencil giveaway and these came out, I just had to contact the fine folks who make Field Notes and ask if they would be willing to provide these for my readers. They sent three 3-packs just for you guys. They threw in their pencil as well since they knew I was doing a pencil giveaway. 

So here's the giveaway. Three readers will win:

• One 3-pack of Ambition Field Notes with bookmark
• 5 pencils I love
• 2 extra pencils that are a little different & interesting to try out
• 1 Staedtler Mars Plastic eraser
• 1 Pencil cap
• 1 two-size pencil sharpener

Other than the notebook sets, bookmark, and pencil, I bought everything else myself and I'm paying for shipping. It's my Christmas gift to three of my readers. I just can't wait to get some good pencils and notebooks into the world!

Who is eligible for the giveaway? My desire is to give these to my normal readers -- pastors, seminarians, writers, workers in various ministries, missionaries, etc. If this giveaway isn't for you, would you please share it with your pastor/pastors so they can enter? If you have these books already, please don't enter. I'm also limiting this to the U.S. Sorry international friends! 

Here's more info on the specifics of the notebooks and pencils...

Ambition - Limited Edition Field Notes Notebooks - One sealed 3 pack

These are gorgeous pocket notebook sized productivity jewels. Gilded pages, sturdy covers with rich colors ("Olive," "Chocolate," & "Wine"), and light brown inner lines. To see more about what they look like outside and in, go here. 

• Book One - Weekly Planner/Memorandum Notebook -- I'm keeping this at my desk for briefly recording daily happenings worth remembering including weather, family activities, church happenings, world events, etc. Some of your grandparents did this, like mine did. Trying it out for 2015. You can use it however you like!
• Book Two - Ledger Lined -- Even if you don't need a true "ledger" book, it's very useful. I'm using one for a dash/plus organization system for myself. It's also a very handy format for todo lists, a personal or family prayer list, a project/next actions list, shopping list, or just writing across the lines like a journal.
• Book Three - Grid/Graph -- This is a more traditional form of pocket notebook that can be used in a million different ways. Grid paper of various types is my "go to" paper for everyday notes and lists and all sorts of work. 

Here's a short video preview of Field Notes Ambition edition...

5 Pencils I Love (& Extras)

• Field Notes Pencil -- Cedar, natural, & nice firm graphite for holding a fine point longer (sharpen less often). I use this everyday with my memorandum notebook because a sharp point that lasts allows me to write smaller.
• Staedtler Norica -- This black beauty writes like butter. It leaves dark marks and is wonderfully smooth. We got a big stock of these for the kids for school. 
• General's Cedar Pointe -- A favorite all-around pencil for me. Beautiful with natural wood grain. 
• Musgrave Test Scoring 100 -- My kids LOVE this one because it's so smooth and so dark. Rich writing experience.
• Palomino Golden Bear -- This cool looking orange pencil with blue eraser is perfect for everyday use. Writes fairly dark and holds the point longer than many. This is what I keep in my pocket whenever I'm out of my office.

Extras

• Staedtler Wopex Pencil -- One of two Staedtler pencils in the pack, this one is unique in that it's an eco pencil. It's made of recycled wood and plastic. It's weird and heavy and interesting. A fun one to add so you can try something different.
• Dixon Tri-Conderoga Pencil -- The Dixon brand is a decent pencil you can buy most anywhere (Target, Wal-Mart). They are hit-and-miss for me because the brand is so big and the production quality varies. But I like the Tri-Conderoga a lot. It's an interesting one because it's slightly oversized and three sided. A comfortable pencil for writing.
• Staedtler Mars Plastic Eraser -- Go ahead and try this next to any other eraser. It's amazing. I use mine every single day.
• Two-Size Pencil Sharpener -- Nothing special, just giving one to each so you can sharpen the pencils I'm sending. They have seen mild usage but should do well enough to get you started. Just don't take these excellent pencils and eat them up in a bad electric sharpener. 
• General's Pencil Cap -- Take a pencil in your pocket or throw it in a bag with this cap. Keeps it from breaking or impaling your leg.

HERE'S HOW YOU ENTER

1. Comment Below. In your comment tell me two things: A. What kind ministry you do, and B. Something memory you have about pencils and/or erasers. Make sure you give your real email in the comment form (not in the actual comment) so I can contact winners.

2. Share. Please share the following on Twitter minus the quote marks (Facebook too, if you can): 

" Pencils & Paper for Pastors Giveaway: limited edition notebooks & amazing pencils. Enter: http://bit.ly/getpencils  "

On Friday I'll tally the number of entries and use random.org to pick 3 winners.

May the odds be ever in your favor!

Logos - Bible Speaks Today NT Commentaries

For the last few months I've been using the Bible Speaks Today (BST) New Testament commentary series on Logos. They supplied me with the digital copy in my Logos library for use and review. I reviewed Logos 5 in March and my review for Logos 6 will be up in a few weeks. It's an outstanding program.

The BST commentary series isn't new to me. Commentaries from this set have been a blessing to me for years and are some of my favorite commentaries because they do so well at blending Bible exposition, pastoral considerations, and theology. They are deep without isolating folks who don't have knowledge of the biblical languages. Excellent work by John Stott. 

Like any commentary series with multiple authors, you have some outstanding commentaries and a few that just don't trip your trigger. Stott's commentaries in this series (Sermon on the Mount, Acts, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, the Timothys) are amazing. I've read the Acts commentary multiple times and used all the others I listed in part or in full. But Stott's volumes aren't the only good ones. Motyer, Clowney, and Milne are just a few of the others I've used in some form and really like. 

I've been using BST on Logos almost exclusively on my iPad. It's super quick. I have BST on the left and ESV on the right and it's the most fun I have using a commentary. I've used it on my iPhone when I forgot my iPad at home. 

Having a top notch New Testament commentary series everywhere I go is a delight. I'm currently using it Milne on the Gospel of John for my sermon series on John. I've typically used paper commentaries to read through once either in my home office or at a cafe and I take notes from it and don't look at it again. I find myself referring back more, and reworking my thoughts on a passage better, by having the commentary with me.

I've had Logos for a while and have a number of great resources to use on it. Most of the resources I've used are individual books or small sets on theology or culture. This is the first set of newer commentaries for Logos that I have and it's proven to be everything Logos has promised. I've replaced a piece of my library and I'm using it more than ever and better than ever.

What to replace next?

Check out Logos 6 and The Bible Speaks Today New Testament Commentary Series. For $99.95 you get the whole set, 22 volumes (8 are from Stott). A great deal. 

Logos Giveaway: Tyndale Ministry Collection

Hey all. I'm now a member of the Logos blogger team that is helping to get the word out about  Logos products. So I am hosting a Punchtab giveaway for you.

The Prize 

Tyndale Ministry Collection (9 vols.). The winner will be chosen at random on August 18th and the collection will be sent to the winner’s Logos account. Don’t have an account? No problem! You can sign up for free here and download free apps to read your books on any device here. I use Logos on all my devices.

Here's How You Enter...

Starting Monday the 4th you can login below with your email address or Facebook account and follow the steps in the widget. That’s it! Each prompted action you follow will earn you additional entries. You can always come back and share a link to the giveaway with your friends for additional entries.

• Start Date: Monday, August 4 at 1am PST
• End Date: Monday, August 18 at 11pm PST

Just So You Know: By entering this giveaway you consent to being signed up to Logos’ “Product Reviews” email list. You’ll receive emails featuring content written by me and a few other Christian bloggers like Aaron Armstrong, Lore Ferguson and others!

Mohler: The Conviction to Lead

I was around Dr. Albert Mohler as a student not too long after he lead a massive turnaround at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. What he accomplished and the stories I heard from his lips and the stories I've heard for many others ring in my ears on the days I need to remember that things can change, that God can change things, and that He calls us to lead change. Because of that, I want to recommend to you his book The Conviction to Lead. It's $4.99 for Kindle right now. 

Lots-o-Links 1.24.14

Stream Arcade Fire's score for the movie Her

Outstanding. It's a score, so it's not a collection of songs. But I think you will love it and love working to it. Beautiful.

Getting Big Projects Done: Best Practices from Successful Writers from Unclutterer

Break things into bite-sized pieces and create daily habits

"How to Discourage Artists in the Church" by Phil Ryken - This is from 2013, but I read it again and it's so helpful. Here's one point (remember, this is the wrong thing to do)...

"Demand artists to give answers in their work, not raise questions. Mark Lewis says, "Makecertain that your piece (or artifact or performance) makes incisive theological or moral points, and doesn't stray into territory about which you are unresolved or in any way unclear. (Clear answers are of course more valuable than questions)." Do not allow for ambiguity, or for varied responses to art. Demand art to communicate in the same way to everyone."

Why I Am A Continuationist by Sam Storms & Why I Am A Cessationist by Tom Schreiner

These two pieces at The Gospel Coalition give helpful, scholarly, theological and experiential reasons for their views. 

How to Handle Discouragement in Ministry

"Watch the full six-minute video to see [Darrin Patrick, Paul Tripp, & Voddie Baucham] discuss isolation, broken trust, pastors as body parts, and more."

Paul Tripp on TGC Podcast: Dangerous Calling

I loved the book by Paul David Tripp, Dangerous Calling (Kindle | WTS). I listened to his TGC talk via the TGC podcast yesterday, "Dangerous Calling," and it was wonderfully convicting. It's still pursuing me. I don't quite like how he handles the issue of sermon prep, though I agree with him in theory.

Check it out if you are a pastor, a pastor's wife, or if you need to know what your pastor may be going through. And if you are a pastor, don't just listen for you. Listen for the sake of your wife. It's in your face, but it's good. 

Study Group for Pastors

My friend, Darryl Dash, attends a study group for pastors that I've known about for a while and is a great idea. Here's a blurb...

Every May I gather with a group of pastors from Monday to Friday. The agenda is simple: to work through a book of the Bible together as we think about preaching it. Every year we bring in a different scholar who has written a commentary on that book. We also have our former preaching professor (Haddon Robinson) help us think through how to preach that book.

We've had Bruce Waltke, George Guthrie, Douglas Moo, Daniel Block, and more. This week we've had D.A. Carson. It's hard to beat. I've been to a lot of conferences, but this by far is my favorite learning event of the year.

You should start one too.

Darryl goes on to explain how a study group can be started and run. You should check it out.

Cheap Kindle Books 4.5.13

Some fantastic books are cheap on Kindle right now...

• The Church Planting Wife | Christine Hoove ($4.99) - please go buy this!
• The Good News We Almost Forgot | Why We Love The Church | Just Do Something | Kevin DeYoung ($4.99 each)
• Glorious Ruin | Tullian Tchivijian ($4.49)
• Brothers, We Are Not Professionals | John Piper ($4.39)
• The Gospel & Personal Evangelism | Mark Dever ($3.99)
• The Deep Things Of God | Fred Sanders ($3.82)
• Creature of the Word | Matt Chandler, Eric Geiger, Josh Patterson ($3.99)
• Counterfeit Gospels | Trevin Wax ($4.99) 
• Gopsel | JD Greear ($3.99)

Lots-o-Links 3.13.13

Sam Storms has a new blog, is on Twitter, and you can "Like" on Facebook. It's a trifecta of Stormsian awesomeness!

I got a Maglus Stylus for my iPad (and one for Joe) and it's great! I've tried several now, and it's the best I've used. Joe told me today he's loving his too. Not only is the tip wonderfully responsive with minimal pressure, but the fact it's magnetized makes it almost impossible to forget. PLUS, if you click here you can get yours for 10% off. I seriously hope many will try this one out. LOVE it.

Serving Without Sinking is another book put out by The Good Book Company that I look forward to reading. Actually Molly might beat me to it. It looks quite helpful for those in ministry needing to not merely do our job, but to find delight in our service to Christ.

Eugene Peterson: Living the Resurrection is $1.99 for Kindle.

If you haven't seen it yet, I really hope wives of church planters, pastors' wives, and wives of men in all sorts of ministries buy and read The Church Planting Wife. Molly has been so blessed through it.

The Church Planting Wife

There has been no other book that I've been this thankful for, concerning my wife. She has been deeply affected by reading and meditating on The Church Planting Wife by Christine Hoover. I'm writing with her permission

Our marriage hasn't been the same since she started reading it. That's no overstatement. She's understood her role better, my role better, God's perspective and love and grace better, etc. I can't even describe the full impact this book has already had on her, and me. What I can describe is that I (as the husband) feel more encouraged by her, understood, helped, cared for, and loved. Sorry to be so vague as there are specific things I can point to, but I want to allow her to continue to process this book.

I asked Molly to provide me with a quote in the book or something to post, and she left me somewhere around 20 quotes...as the ones she would single out for a post. I'll give you one. :) Here's a blurb from the book website about the book and a quote that has been meaningful for Molly. First, about the book...

Behind every church planter is a church planting wife, who plays an integral role in the formation of the church, who is often the sole encourager for her husband, and who juggles such an intense ministry while nurturing a family.

Because she is so crucial to the church planter and the church, church planting wives need support, encouragement, and help in their roles. They need an apt word from someone who has been there and applicable biblical wisdom that will sustain them.

Here's one of Molly's favorite quotes that has helped her refresh her calling as a church planting (or in our case, replanting) wife...

My husband has many people who care about him, respect him, and help him lead the church. But he only has one helpmate. I am the only one who listens to his deep discouragement, who satisfies his physical needs, who mothers his children, who is a constant and true companion, who protects his periods of rest, and who values his fruitfulness as much as he does.

Church planting is a "together" calling. 

Molly's response to the dozens and dozens of "aha" moments in this book has been that she wishes she had this book 10 years ago before I entered a full-time pastoral work. There are not only great chapters by Hoover, but helpful interviews with church planting wives like Lauren Chandler (Matt), Ginger Vassar (JR), and Jennifer Carter (Matt).

I've already ordered a copy for a church planter friend's wife and one to have ready to give out when the opportunity presents itself. I want you to pick up a copy for your wife, your pastor's wife (even if not a planter, trust me!), or whoever could benefit from this book. I had no idea when I got this book how much it would impact my marriage in such a short period of time. I'm praying it will have a lasting impact on hundreds of other church planting wives. Molly says to read it slowly and don't rush through it. Take it in, deal with your heart.

Buy The Church Planting Wife. Also pastor/planter/replanter wives should visit and read Christine Hoover's blog, GraceCoversMe.com.

Pastors: What Should We Do About Fear?

Paul David Tripp in Dangerous Calling (Kindle version), which may be the best book of 2012 (certainly the most important book of 2012 for me and my wife), writes in chapter 9, "There are times when fear causes all of us to do things we should not do or keeps us from doing what we have been called to do. So it is vital to ask, What in the world should we do about fear? Let me suggest four things." I'll give you the list, but go read the book for Tripp's explanation of each...

1. Humbly own your fears
2. Confess those places where fear has produced bad decisions and wrong responses
3. Pay attention to your meditation
4. Preach the Gospel to yourself

John Piper to Young John Piper

Mark Driscoll interviews John Piper on stereotypes, risks, & Jesus. This is the first question and the first part of Piper's response. Love this...

MARK DRISCOLL: WHAT WOULD JOHN PIPER TODAY TELL A YOUNG JOHN PIPER WHO IS GETTING READY TO ENTER INTO MINISTRY?

John Piper: I would quote to him V. Raymond Edman: “Don’t question in the dark what God showed you in the light.” Darkness comes. In the middle of it, the future looks blank. The temptation to quit is huge. Don’t. You are in good company. You are in the pit with King David. He waited. “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction” (Ps. 40:1–2). God will do that for you. You will argue with yourself that there is no way forward. But with God, nothing is impossible. He has more ropes and ladders and tunnels out of pits than you can conceive. Wait. Pray without ceasing. Hope.

Choosing What To Meditate On

From Paul David Tripp's excellent book, Dangerous Calling (or Kindle)...

For many people in ministry, waiting becomes a chronicle of ever-weakening faith because meditating on the circumstances will leave you in awe of the circumstances. They will appear to grow larger, you will feel smaller, and your vision of God will be clouded. But if you meditate on the Lord, you will be in greater awe of his presence, power, faithfulness, and grace. The situation will seem smaller, and you will live with greater confidence even though nothing has changed.

Pick up a copy of Dangerous Calling for 48% off at WTS.

Keeping Pastors From Isolation

Another helpful list from Paul David Tripp's tremendous book, Dangerous Calling. We haven't had a day pass without at least one significant conversation between me and my wife, Molly, since we started reading this book. We talked about a few things from this list today (from pages 79-82 in the printed edition). This is for pastors and those who care for them, and it's about a better, more healthy way to keep Pastors from isolation.

1. Require your Pastor to attend a small group he doesn't lead
2. Pastor, seek out a spiritually mature person to mentor you at all times
3. Establish a Pastor's wives' small group
4. Pastor, be committed to appropriate self-disclosure in your preaching
5. Be sure that your Pastor and his family are regularly invited into the homes of families in your church
6. Make sure there is someone who is regularly mentoring your Pastor's wife
7. Make sure your Pastor and his wife have the means to be regularly out of the house and away for weekends with one another
8. Make sure counseling help is always available to the Pastor, his wife, and their family

A lot of helpful explanation of these points are in the book, so you should get it and read it. My wife read it in 1 1/2 days (she has her own copy) and God is using it mightily in our marriage. I can't recommend Dangerous Calling (Kindle) enough. 

Dangerous Calling | Signs of a Pastor Losing His Way

In Paul David Tripp's new, and excellent, and devastating, and grace-giving book, Dangerous Calling, the author lists 9 signs of a pastor losing his way. They are based on one particular pastor he talked to (which is why they are listed as referring to one person), but they are listed in order to help all pastors. Tripp goes into great detail to explain each in chapter 2, and I urge you to not only get this book, but read it carefully and prayerfully as a pastor (or maybe to better understand your pastor). These were hard to read for me personally, and will make for painful yet fruitful conversation with my wife later today. I'll list the 9 signs concerning Tripp's assessment of one pastor, but please go read more about them in Dangerous Calling with the authors application to us all. Also check out the DVD's.

1. He ignored the clear evidence of problems
2. He was blind to the issue of his own heart
3. His ministry lacked devotion
4. He wasn't preaching the gospel to himself
5. He wasn't listening to the people closest to him
6. His ministry became burdensome
7. He began to live in silence
8. He began to question his calling
9. He gave way to fantasies of another life

Pastors: Where Is Your Identity?

Another quote from Dangerous Calling by Paul David Tripp. This one on pastors and our identity, where it might be and should be...

Blind to what was going on in my heart, I was proud, unapproachable, defensive, and all too comfortable. I was a pastor; I didn’t need what other people need. Now, I want to say again that at the conceptual, theological level, I would have argued that all of this was bunk. Being a pastor was my calling, not my identity. Child of the Most High God was my cross-purchased identity. Member of the body of Christ was my identity. Man in the middle of his own sanctification was my identity. Sinner and still in need of rescuing, transforming, empowering, and delivering grace was my identity. I didn’t realize that I looked horizontally for what I had already been given in Christ and that it was producing a harvest of bad fruit in my heart, in my ministry, and in my relationships. I had let my ministry become something that it should never be (my identity); I looked to it to give me what it never could (my inner sense of well-being).

Paul David Tripp in Dangerous Calling (p. 25)

Pastors: Find A Deeper Hope in the Gospel

Here's a good reason for pastors to buy and read Dangerous Calling by Paul David Tripp. I'd also recommend church members read this. It will open your eyes to what your pastor is going through, much of it you don't know.

This is a diagnostic book. It is written to help you take an honest look at yourself in the heart- and life-exposing mirror of the Word of God—to see things that are wrong and need correcting and to help you place yourself once again under the healing and transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Of the books that I have written, I found this one the hardest to write, not because of the writing process itself but because its pages expose the ugliness of my own heart and display how desperate my need for grace continues to be. It is not an exaggeration to say that I wept my way through writing some of the chapters. There were moments when I would go upstairs to share what I had written with Luella, the tears of conviction would come, and I would be unable to continue. But as I did my writing, it did not leave me feeling discouraged or hopeless but, rather, with a deeper hope in the gospel and a greater joy in ministry than I think I have ever known.

Paul David Tripp in Dangerous Calling  (p. 11) - still 80% with coupon code: PASTORS

On Freshness in Preaching

I have a copyright 1898 edition of John Broadus' On the Preparation & Delivery of Sermons. The first edition was printed in 1870. Broadus was professor of homiletics at SBTS in Louisville, KY and died in 1895. Here he lists and explains "helps" concerning freshness in preaching (pgs 146-149). "The basis of preaching and the truth preached must ever be the same. Yet there is a freshness in the treatment of old truths, and in discoursing on the unchangeable basis of God's Word, that is eminently desirable and should be maintained though life."

1. Study the Scriptures. Earnest and continued study both of the Bible in general, and of each text in particular, will greatly enhance and sustain a preacher's freshness. Let him...seek not mere novelties and fancies in interpretation, but the exact meaning of the inspired Word. No matter how often he has studied the book or the text before, let him keep on, and new thoughts will be suggested. A man cannot fail to keep fresh in his preaching who continues through life really and properly to study the Word of God.

2. Study Theology. Keep in touch with the great books, both general treatises and special discussions, on Systematic Theology. Doctrine -- real doctrine -- is needed as a novelty in much of the preaching of our times. By all means should a man reflect profoundly upon the commonplaces of religious truth. Vinet well said that the basis of eloquence is commonplace; and another has remarked that the pulpit often "makes the mistake of giving us common thoughts about deep things, when what we need would be deep thoughts about common things." We get these deep thoughts about common things only by penetrating and persevering reflection.

3. Study occasions. Here, again, we should not be directly seeking freshness in itself, but the reality of things. The best freshness is found by simply seeking real adaptation to the real occasion. Study the general condition of the congregation; reflect upon the special occurrences of religious interest, and upon any of secular interest that may furnish illustration or call for passing application or remark. Whenever you repeat a sermon on a new occasion adjust it in your study beforehand to the new conditions. A sermon that suits equally well all occasions does not thoroughly suit any one of them. This adaptation to circumstances often depends upon apparently slight matters.

4. Study individual cases. Physicians and lawyers may set us here a valuable lesson. The wise preacher will know people individually, and how to apply the truth to their special needs. He may thus have the advantage of the Romish confessional without its grave objections. Sometimes a hint in conversation will be a rich germ of suggestion. No man can keep fresh in the pulpit without keeping up both spiritual and social contact with people.

5. Study the age in which we live. Let the preacher strive to understand the strength and the weakness of the age -- its healthy tendencies and its diseases --  its illusions and its well-founded hopes. Particularly should he endeavor to discover and proclaim the true relations of Christianity to the age -- what it needs from Christianity, and what Christianity needs from it. Its currents of thought and sentiment, religious and irreligious -- its difficulties and yearnings -- its movements and changes -- demand the thoughtful attention of the gospel preacher. Yet he should let the fruits of his study and reflection appear not so much in formal discussions through set discourses, as in apt allusion and application here and there in his ordinary sermons. Thus he may be constantly showing how truly Christianity meets all real human wants; and thus he may restrain and fortify his hearers without perplexing them with plausible errors. Excellence in preaching, like the truly excellent in literature and art, must either take hold of things present, even transient things, and penetrate though them to permanent eternal principles; or, if it begins with general principles, it must always bring them to bear upon living characters and actual wants.  

6. Study yourself. A man should continue through life to learn from his mistakes. Certainly the young preacher should do this, and even more imperatively the elder. Never fall into stereotyped methods of treating your subjects; cherish and cultivate a restless longing to preach better, and try frequent experiments in preaching differently. There is among preachers a deal of latent power which never gets itself developed. By all means should the inventive faculty be kept healthy and active. Some one has said, "Attention is the mother of invention." Fasten the mind on your subject by resolute effort of the will, and compel yourself to the task of analysis and association of ideas, which are the principal parts of invention. This may also be greatly stimulated by reading and conversation. And let us remember that our very best, our richest invention, is not achieved in preparing next Sunday's sermons, but in general reading, conversation, reflection, when the mind is quiet, throws off its accustomed burdens, and springs up elastic. All the labor and thought thus bestowed in cultivating and maintaining freshness will be richly repaid many times over in sustained power and usefulness in the pulpit.

Preachers and Frustration

Anyone who works with people will face frustration. How much of this Jesus faced with his disciples! We preachers should not try to avoid frustration by handing over unpleasant things to others so that we can concentrate on our preaching ministry. Facing frustration is part of our preparation for penetrative preaching.

Ajith Fernando, Jesus Driven Ministry, p26.

Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp

UPDATE 10.30.12: Use coupon code PASTORS and get the hardback book for $4.60 (80% off!).

I watched this video today (below) for Paul David Tripp's new book, Dangerous Calling. I immediately went searching for my wife so she could watch it with me. By the end she was tearing up a bit and then we had a 30 minute conversation about the last 8 1/2 years of pastoral ministry and the struggles and pain we've experienced in our family & relationships. It was very difficult to be this honest, but it was very fruitful.

I'm buying Dangerous Calling right now, as well as the conference DVD's (10 - 25 minutes sessions | grab the free leader's guide and discussion guide). WTS bookstore has great deals for the next 6 days: hardcover $12 (48% off, or 5 for $10 a piece) and conference DVD's $15 (62% off). Kindle is out on October 31st. 

Dangerous Calling from Crossway on Vimeo.