Practical Wisdom for Pastors: Words of Encouragement and Counsel for a Lifetime of Ministry Book

	Acknowledgments	11
	Foreword	13
	Introduction	15
Section 1	Personal Life
	Our Call	20
	Personal Devotional Life	21
	Prayer	23
	Accountability Partners	24
	Admitting Mistakes	26
	Our Financial Reputations	27
	An Undisciplined Appetite	29
	Our Dress	30
	Personal Life: For Additional Study	31
Section 2	Family Life
	Our Wives	34
	Our Homes	36
	Ignoring Our Own Families	38
	Family Devotional Life	39
	Family Life: For Additional Study	40
Section 3	Study Habits
	Our Personal Libraries	44
	Poor Study Habits	46
	Spending Day After Day in the Study	47
	Staying out of the Study	49
	Making Your Studies Work for You Later	50
	Daily Schedules	52
	Our Bible Notes	54
	Faxes, E-Mail, the Internet	56
	Periodicals, Pamphlets, Newspapers	57
	Reading, Writing, Speaking	58
	Continuing Education	60
	Study Habits: For Additional Study	62
Section 4	Messages
	Topical Messages	64
	Tone of Voice	65
	Too Much Time on Exegesis	67
	Sermons with No Structure	69
	Sermons with Too Many Points	70
	Sermons with No Discernible Point	71
	Sermons with No Illustrations	73
	Sermons with Too Many Illustrations	74
	Sermons That Drone On and On	75
	Addressing Implications Only	77
	Pulpit Notes	79
	Balancing Truth	82
	Failing to Share the Pulpit	83
	Translations	85
	Messages: For Additional Study	87
Section 5	Church Life
	Candidating Before a Church	92
	Leading, Not Following	94
	Trying to Do It All	96
	Meetings, Meetings, Meetings!	98
	House Calls	100
	Hospital Visits	102
	Fellow Pastors/Elders	104
	Deacons	106
	Church Finances	108
	The Telephone	110
	Schedules and Appointments	112
	Diaries/Daily Planners	113
	Short-Term Assessments of the Members	115
	Avoiding Cliques	116
	Being Fair with Your Congregation	118
	Settling the Score Publicly	119
	Looking Down on Others	121
	"I'll Pray for You"	122
	Listening to Complaints	123
	Members with Vague Complaints	125
	Getting the Facts	126
	Open Rebuke	128
	Fear of the Congregation	129
	Letting Church Problems Fester	130
	Church Hopping by the Members	131
	People Who Are Relocated	133
	Changing Your Church	136
	Leaving a Church	138
	Stepping Down	140
	Leaving a Legacy	141
	Church Hopping by the Pastor	143
	Church Life: For Additional Study	145
Section 6	Counseling
	Pastoral Counseling	148
	When to Refer	152
	Suicide	154
	Making Judgments	155
	Counseling: For Additional Study	157
Section 7	Weddings, Divorces, Funerals
	Marriages	160
	Separations	161
	Divorces	163
	The Wedding Service	165
	Funerals	167
	Weddings, Divorces, Funerals: For Additional Study	169
Section 8	Relationships with Others
	Mentoring	172
	An Independent Spirit	174
	Evangelism/Outreach	176
	Our Public Involvement	178
	Jealousy and Competition	179
	Standing Alone	181
	Missions	182
	Relationships with Others: For Additional Study	184
Section 9	Dangers
	Proof-Texting	186
	Taking a Position	187
	Majoring on the Minors	189
	The Tyranny of the Urgent	190
	Our Secretaries	191
	Our Office Doors	193
	Assuming Too Much	194
	Our Genuine Needs	196
	Dealing with Panic (Our Own!)	197
	Confusing the Gospel	199
	Neglecting Exercise and Recreation	200
	Christian Liberty for the Pastor	201
	Shackles for the Pastor	203
	Are We the Resident Authority?	205
	When Fear Strikes	206
	Taking All the Blame for Failures	207
	Taking Credit for Success	209
	Litigation	210
	Dangers: For Additional Study	213
Section 10	Miscellaneous
	Why Not Female Pastors?	216
	The Senior Pastor	218
	The Pastor and the IRS	219
	One-Issue Churches	221
	Miscellaneous: For Additional Study	222
	Appendices
Appendix I	Pastor's Self-Evaluation Questionnaire	224
Appendix II	What Should a Sermon Do?	239
	Bibliography	245
	Index	267