Posted by Ray Pritchard on 5.4.11 in Pastors
On Tuesday a group of pastors and wives met in Brunswick, Maine for a day of fellowship and encouragement. The Mid-Maine Pastors Conference sponsors a yearly get-together at a local hotel. When Pastor Mark Rockwood of Berean Baptist Church in Brunswick heard that we were going to be speaking in New Brunswick, he asked if we could stay over to speak…
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 3.5.11 in Churches, Pastors
This morning we wrapped up the John 17 conference in Rochester, New York. Church leaders from all over the region gathered for three days of fellowship and biblical teaching. Pastor Ray Viola of Koinonia Fellowship was on a missions trip to India two years ago when after preaching on Jesus’ prayer in John 17, especially the prayer that &ldquo…
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 2.8.11 in Pastors, Preaching, Sermons
Lately I’ve been thinking about what makes a “great” preacher. The answer must necessarily be subjective. After listening to hundreds of sermons by hundreds of preachers (some famous, most not) in various settings for 45 years, I’ve come to some conclusions about “great” sermons and “great” preachers….
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 1.4.11 in Churches, Pastors
I have a friend who will soon be interviewed by a pulpit committee for the position of pastor. He wrote to a few friends asking for some “killer questions.” Here are a few of the suggested questions:1. What’s the elephant in the room that no one wants to address?2. When people in this community hear the name of this church, what d…
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 8.30.10 in Christian News, Churches, Current Events, Pastors, Questions, Video
The last election was mean-spirited and it was hard to discern between truth and lies. Should Christians separate from political activism and focus on “Christian work” instead?
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 8.26.10 in Church Trends, Pastors
A note arrived from a pastor asking an unusual question. When the leaders of a particular ministry met, they were evenly divided on whether or not to dismiss a staff member. Because the vote was deadlocked, the pastor cast the deciding vote in favor of termination. When word leaked out, certain people were very upset, including some who threatened …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 8.6.10 in Books, Pastors, Sermons
In 1898 a young man named J. D. Jones became the pastor of the Richmond Hill Congregational Church in Bournemouth, a popular English seaside resort. The church building is located near the Central Square so that whoever preached there could draw people from all directions. That’s what J. D. Jones did for 40 years. He was called “the man…
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 5.13.10 in Books, Pastors
It’s a little-known and rarely discussed secret that pastors sometimes struggle with depression. There are many reasons why we prefer not to deal with this problem openly. Because we look to our pastors as spiritual leaders, it’s hard to think of them wrestling with fear, discouragement, doubt and depression. And pastors feel the pressu…
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 2.24.10 in Pastors, Personal
The word arrived via email from a friend that Don Gerig died last night. I felt glad and sad when I heard the news, glad for Don and sad for the rest of us. Not quite a year ago Don started a blog called Gerig’s Musings detailing his journey through brain cancer treatment. If you read the entries, you get a good sense of how a Christian fac…
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 2.16.10 in Pastors, Preaching
Notes taken from Quiet Hints to Growing Preachers by Charles E. Jefferson, Chapter 26, “Unconscious Decay."A man growing better does not measure the stages of his progress, nor does a man becoming worse realize the headway of his descent. Men who live nearest to the heart of God do not prate of their visions nor boast of the light in t…
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