How to be make it through Seminary financially while being poor

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Are you thinking about going to seminary to study to be a Pastor?  Even if you are not going to seminary but you are a Christian who loves God, do you know someone who is thinking about going to seminary but might be working through the issue of finance?

Here are ten practical things that I found helpful to get through Seminary when the finances are hard.  They were things that I personally found helpful to make it through my Master’s of Divinity (MDiv) and Master’s of Theology (ThM).   While there’s personal responsibility I also realize it was God’s grace that provided for me and also the means of others who showed me love and help along the way too.

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Review: The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians

D.A. Carson. The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, January 2nd 2018. 160 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster |Amazon

Bible believing Christians know that the Christian ministry must be Cross-Centered but what does that mean?  In this 160 page book New Testament scholar and author Don Carson writes a book on what that means based upon the book of 1 Corinthians.  This makes for a spiritually edifying read whether you are in pastoral ministry or you are a faithful church member.  It is also spiritually edifying whether you are studying to enter the ministry or someone who have been a pastor for some time, and I read this at at a point in my life where I’m close to a decade of full time ministry.

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This Sunday at Church: Send someone home from Church

This Sunday at Church I want to encourage you to do the following: Send someone home from Church.

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This Sunday at Church: Encourage Your Pastors

This Sunday at Church I want to encourage you to do the following: Encourage Your Pastors.

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Faithful Shepherd Pastors’ Retreat 2018: Videos

This is from last year’s conference which they have just made available online for others to benefit from.  It is sponsored by P&R Publishing (among others), which is one of my top favorite Christian publisher.  The conference is called “Faithful Shepherd Pastors’ Retreat” and last year’s theme was on “The Welcoming Church.”

What is the purpose of this conference?

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Quick Devotional from 1 Timothy 3:1 (Observation from the Greek)

This is from my daily Greek exercise of sight reading many months ago, courtesy of Vincent S Artale Jr.

Our text is from the Greek translation of 1 Timothy 3:1.  Here is my translation:

“SENTENCE 3 ‹ πιστὸς ὁ λόγος › [CD Εἴ [TP τις TP] ἐπισκοπῆς ὀρέγεται CD]
This is a faithful word: If anyone desire to be an overseer

καλοῦ ἔργου ἐπιθυμεῖ”
he desire a good work

Here are some observations:

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Preaching with Passion by Alex Montoya: 2019 Winterim Lectures

Pastor Alex Montoya has been instrumental in God shaping how I preach and also with wisdom concerning pastoral ministry.  He’s to me the Hispanic Charles Spurgeon and I lament that he’s retired from teaching in seminary.

Last week he’s recently taught for a Seminary Winterim session on the passion of preaching.  In a one week intensive course he taught a future generation of those entering ministry on homiletic (how to preach).

I thought I share them with viewers to help preachers and those who are teachers.

Here are the videos:

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Pastors: Be Swordsmen and Chefs

Ephesians 6:17 refers to the Word of God as the sword of the Spirit: “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

If the Word of God is a sword then that this helps us with understanding further two biblical roles of Pastors.

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Review: Leading Today’s Funerals

Dan S. Lloyd. Leading Today’s Funerals: A Pastoral Guide for Improving Bereavement Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, October 1st 1997. 126 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

I read the kindle version of this book in preparation for my first funeral that I will be doing as a pastor.  I had to read this pretty quick given the situation.  I am glad I did as it was helpful.  I read this work and took lots of notes from it.  This was a book that I wished I read in seminary.

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Pastoral Burnout: Its Causes & Cures (9 Marks Journal Articles)

Pastoral burnout is a real problem.  9 Marks Ministry for their latest journal focuses on this problem.  I think Pastors and church leaders will benefit from it.  Also regular Church members would benefit from it in terms of their own prayers for the church, pastors and ministering to their own pastor.  Church life is a two way street.  You can find it here.

I’m glad they make this journal available for free.

Here’s the breakdown of individual articles.

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Video: Ligon Duncan Reflects on His Initial Days in Pastoral Ministry

It’s the Lord’s Day…and Day Light Saving!

So to save time since it’s a duty day as a pastor and preacher I thought I share this video from Ligon Duncan.  It’s on his remembrance of his early days in ministry.  It’s worth listening to for those who are younger pastors new to the ministry.

Enjoy this video.  And may those who are in the ministry continue you growing in grace and remaining humble and loving of our churches!

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Review and Recommended: The Deliberate Church by Mark Dever

First off before I share my review I want to welcome all those who have recently found our blog on Monergism.com.  We are a blog that is intent on covering apologetics, Christian worldview and theology with posts on book reviews, resources and our own written content.  Feel free to subscribe and bookmark our page for daily posts!

Mark Dever and Paul Alexander. The Deliberate Church.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, September 9th 2005.  221 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

Both authors Mark Dever and Paul Alexander have written a helpful book for pastors and church leaders on doing church ministry according to the Bible and centered on the Gospel.  As the book states on page 28, “The Gospel alone shapes and evaluate must both shape and evaluate any ministry method we use.”  This is a great antidote to the seeker sensitive church method or other marketing gimmick that is driven more by man-centered pragmatisms instead of the Word of God.  I love how this book is both biblical and practical since I believe there is a real need of resources on practical ecclesiology (doctrine of the church).  Too often one find two kinds of extreme: practical works without it being biblical or biblical works on the church without a deeper practical picture of what does it look like.  Dever and Alexander writes from being biblically informed and years of wisdom and experience which through their 9 Marks ministry have greatly helped many other local churches including the one I minister at.

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Pastors and the Day After Sunday

Had a long weekend with ministry.  Took Monday off to be with family, both my immediate and also one of my sibling and her immedate family.  I know I blogged a while back for the Case for Pastors Being Off on Tuesdays but this Monday I was glad I got Monday off instead of Tuesday.

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How to Get the Most from our Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers Series

I’ve compiled all the posts for our series “Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers” here.  It was a devotional series I worked on after considering how many Pastors end up burning out.  It’s originally meant for pastors but teachers in churches were later also written in view of you as well!

In this post I want to discuss about how to get the most from the series.

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Collection of Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers

This is worth bookmarking if you are a pastor or teacher in the Church.

Here’s a post on “How to Get the Most from our Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers Series.”

Here’s the series:

1. Sunday Morning Motivation for Preachers and Teachers: Be Worthy of Your Wages!
2. Sunday Morning Motivation for Preachers and Teachers: Sharing in His Glory
3. Sunday Morning Motivation for Preachers and Teachers: Receiving the unfading crown of glory
4. Sunday Morning Motivation for Preachers and Teachers: Used by God to bring People to Salvation
5. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: Fixing our hope on the living God
6. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: Your Spiritual Gift Bestowed by God
7. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: You are given spirit of Power
8. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: You are given spirit of Love
9. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: You are given spirit of Self-Discipline
10. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: You were appointed a preacher or teacher
11. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: Your reward is great in heaven
12. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: Knowing Christ

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