Mike Leake

I have a young pastor friend that I am extremely proud of. (Not that I’m not proud of my other pastor friends, but this guy takes the cake right now). This is his first pastorate and it has not been a grand experience as of yet. The details do not matter. What pertains to this post is his attitude. The only thing that you need to know is that he is having to endure a dangerous disposition from an influential man in the church.  From what it sounds like this is the type of guy that could split the church. My young pastor friend has decided that rather than leave town he is going … [Read more...] about Monday’s Ministry Musing: Hired Shepherds v. Jesus-type Shepherds

One morning as I was taking a shower this text came across my mind:  “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.”  I didn’t give it much thought until a few days later… There I was sitting in the bath tub at a spiritual crossroad.  I felt as if all of hell was pulling at my soul.  Tempting me, sifting me…sifting me…wait, was God communicating something to me a few days ago.  I had no idea.  Everything was cloudy. Here I was a youth pastor.  I am supposed to be leading teenagers.  I … [Read more...] about Review of Tempted and Tried

I’ve had to learn something the hard way again…imagine that!!!  The Lord is painfully showing me the need of being a faithful pastor to that which Jonathan Edwards called your little church: “Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church.”  I cannot be a faithful pastor to my wife and son at “big” church until I am a faithful pastor to my wife and son at our own little church. I think many pastors struggle with this.  I know I do.  I work at the office preparing sermons, spending time in study, time in prayer, time planning, and time solving all the worlds problems … [Read more...] about Monday Ministry Musing: The Most Important Church I Pastor

You are lonely.  You passionately pray for God to bring a companion.  The next day you meet this absolutely amazing person of the opposite sex.  Everything seems perfect.  God has “finally opened up this door”.  Yeah, he’s not a believer, but you are confident that because God has perfectly aligned the stars this person will certainly become a believer soon enough.  It’s the will of God.  It has to be. I’ve counseled a good number of people with this very mindset (not just teenagers, either).  Things are lining up into place so this MUST be the will of God.  After all doesn’t God … [Read more...] about The Danger of “Open Doors”

I wrote this awhile back when I was super busy with sermon preparation for a church camp that I was pastoring: I am super busy with camp and trying to prepare the “perfect” sermons to proclaim that Jesus is Enough. I have four sermons to preach (as well as write short devotions, team-time devotions, and put a little together for the morning worship services).  I have spent a good deal of time on sermon number one.  It keeps going through revision.  I get it all together and then decide to cut something.  Then I add something else.  Then I cut something else.  The process keeps … [Read more...] about Monday’s Ministry Musing: The Only Perfect Sermon Was Crucified

We’ve all had a booger moment.  Let me explain. A booger moment is that moment when you realize that people weren’t laughing at your jokes they were laughing at the snot rocket projecting out of your nose.  Or it’s that moment when you realize that the students that you were preaching to were not uncharacteristically focused on the message because you had really good content.  No, they were focused because your pants were unzipped. I remember one particular occasion in High School when I was talking (that’s what the kids these days call flirting) to a girl that I liked as I was … [Read more...] about Snot Rockets are Normal East of Eden

A pastor will typically spend hours studying over a text to preach it on a Sunday morning.  He wrestles through the difficult parts of the text.  There is much sweat and labor that goes into preparing a message.  Often times God will preach the sermon to our own hearts before we preach it to others. I think the best sermons that I have preached have been the ones that have rocked my heart and soul before I even stand in the pulpit.  When I feel the weight of a text and see the beauty of the gospel therein it causes me to be very passionate about the sermon I am getting ready to preach.  I … [Read more...] about Monday’s Ministry Musing: The Necessity of Harnessing Excitement

King David wakes up from his royal slumber.  The dreary-eyed David checks his email. 14 new messages. After deleting all of the male enhancement products, requests from Nigerian princes, and chain letters about loving Jesus and America Israel he reads this gem: ----- Subject: You Stink! Dearest King David, I heartily disagree with your theology.  RANT, RANT, RANT, RANT, a few true statements, A COUPLE STABS AT YOUR CHARACTER, bless your heart. Sincerely, Joe Troll. ----- Now what happens in our day? King David hits reply and plays some serious … [Read more...] about If King David Blogged In Our World

For the second time I am reading Ed Stetzer’s landmark book Breaking the Missional Code. I agree with most if it. But one thing I am having a hard time with is this statement and the implications that come out of it: “Our growing cultural diversity requires a church within the reach of every people group, population segment, and cultural environment if we are to be faithful to the Great Commission”. The implication here is that if you live in an area that has lots of “cowboys” then perhaps a cowboy church would help reach people with the gospel. Or maybe you live around a bunch of … [Read more...] about Still Trying to Understand Cowboy Church

I used to be a caged-Calvinist.  Seriously, I was really bad.  Once I came to embrace the doctrines of grace I became very ungracious.  I guess I felt duped.  Maybe I wanted so badly for others to embrace what had opened my eyes.  Who knows, all that really matters is to say that I was a jerk.  I measured people not by how much they loved Jesus but how doctrinally pure they were (read "whether or not they were Calvinist").  And I was very quick to get myself into arguments defending Jesus and his beloved disciple; John Calvin. Then I read this by John Newton and God used it to utterly break … [Read more...] about John Newton On Controversy