by Mark Farnham | Oct 31, 2014 | Pastoral Ministry, Preaching, Theology
Pastors are busy. I know; I was one. They hardly have time to prepare their sermons every week while at the same time visiting, counseling, planning, fixing, etc. Ask most pastors what good theology books they’ve read recently and you’ll be greeted by...
by Mark Farnham | Nov 7, 2011 | Church History, Pastoral Ministry, Theology
In the Heidelberg Disputation of 1518 Martin Luther set forward his radical new theology publically for the first time. This prompted two significant responses. First, the Strasbourg reformer Martin Bucer became a follower of Luther, and second, Johann Eck was moved...
by Mark Farnham | Sep 28, 2011 | Ethics, Pastoral Ministry, Preaching
Demonizing opponents is (unfortunately) a common practice in churches where the leadership is making sweeping changes that are opposed by some in the congregation. Those who oppose the changes, the pastor tells the congregation, are just like the Pharisees in...
by Mark Farnham | Mar 4, 2011 | Pastoral Ministry, Theology
As Piper’s comment in the previous post argued, being a pastor/theologian does not mean staying up-to-date on all the latest scholarly publications produced each year. I teach seminary full time and cannot keep up with everything published in even one of the...
by Mark Farnham | Mar 3, 2011 | Pastoral Ministry
If I am scholarly, it is not in any sense because I try to stay on the cutting edge in the discipline of biblical and theological studies. I am way too slow for that. What scholarlywould mean for me is that the greatest Object of knowledge is God and that he has...
by Mark Farnham | Feb 28, 2011 | Pastoral Ministry
Much confusion exists today regarding the proper model of pastoral leadership. Both pastors and congregations develop concepts of pastoral ministry that are both unbiblical and destructive to the church. Some see the pastor as entrepreneur, the one who is supposed to...
