Pastor's Cohort



Pastors Cohort 1/23/2025

  • To shepherd the flock, we must guard the truth, we need it
  • The truth of God's word about everything

2 Timothy 1:13-2:2

This should be the core of our ministry:

  • Guard the truth (1:14)
  • Entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also (2:2)
  • The truth won't be passed on unless our generation does it
What Cause Men Not To Do This:

  1. We forget, this is our sole responsibility.
  2. We rely on other means and methods to build the church.
  3. We lose confidence that the truth is enough to bring life.
  4. We neglect to make it a priority to raise others up.

How Does a Pastor Guard the Truth?

  1. Preach both the OT and NT on a regular basis.
  2. Make sure the truth of the gospel is made clear.
  3. Be intentional that truth drives every aspect of our churches ministry
  4. Be diligent to raise up the next generation of leaders to guard the truth

"I created holes in our church financially many times and took pay cuts by training up and sending out our best, many were the most faithful financial givers." -Brian Croft


PASTORS' COHORT 1/30/2025

  • Shepherding is the umbrella under which all other things go, including preaching
  • Preaching has been taking shepherding's place
"preach the word" 2 Tim. 4:2

"with complete patience and teaching" 2 Tim. 4:2

  • Just because God's word is powerful does not mean it acts quickly, see how the kingdom of God is built in the gospels
  • When Brian Croft helps dying churches with revitalization it is always because a time came when the word stopped being preached
  • Biblical texts to support: 2 Tim. 4:1-5. (what, when, how, why)
  • Modern lens: A revitalization pastor must persevere in his preaching ministry for several years to see true spiritual life return to a church.

Ways Pastors Fail to Persevere in Preaching

  1. We conclude because the word is powerful it will work quickly
  2. We grow impatient when we don't see the result we want
  3. We start to consider that the word is not enough to bring life and address the disfunction in the church and turn to gimmicks
  4. We get discourages with the constant criticisms that come with little or no encouragement

Ways Pastors Can Persevere in Preaching

  1. Realize Jesus told us how long this will take (Mark 4)
    • It takes 5 years to establish a preaching ministry in a church
    • Then in the next 5 years you start to see the fruit
  2. There is always room to grow and get better at preaching
    • It is a lifelong work, we never arrive
    • It takes about 500 sermons to find your preaching voice
    • Other than preaching every week, getting regular feedback about your sermons will help you grow the most
  3. Seek to be yourself when you preach, not your preaching influencers
    • A lot of guys are a bad imitation of their preaching influencers
    • Your people need you, not those other guys, they need pastoral preaching in the church
    • God made you unique, who is that in the pulpit?
  4. Trust God's word always does what he wants when you preach it 

 

Comments

Post a Comment