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Sunday A La Carte

Every now and again I collect more good articles than I can share in a week’s worth of A La Carte. When that happens I like to create a Sunday edition. And that’s exactly what I am doing today since I didn’t want to miss sharing any of it. So here we go…

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How to really encourage your pastor

Ian Carmichael offers some counsel on how to really encourage your pastor. “Here’s the main point I want to make: there is no such thing as a dispassionate pastor. Can a pastor really feel no emotion about the welfare of his people?” I sure hope not…

Family Partners: Men and Women Serving Together in God’s Church

Denise Hardy reflects on many years spent serving on staff at churches, often as the only female staff member. “There are examples in the scriptures of men and women working alongside one another for the sake of the gospel. We should want to follow the model given to us. How can we do this? What keeps us from doing this? We need a theological vision of brothers and sisters working shoulder-to-shoulder for the sake of the gospel.”

How Do You Resurrect an Empty Church?

I don’t often link to articles on Slate, but in this case I was interested in their look at a quickly growing number of empty church buildings across America. “It is a story replaying over and over in cities across the United States, where older churches have been hammered by neighborhood change and maintenance costs, coinciding with a national trend of plummeting religious attendance across faiths.” We see this happening all across Canada as well.

What Does Ecclesiastes 1:2 Mean?

We all know that Ecclesiastes is awfully concerned with “vanity.” But what exactly is bound up in that word? And what makes it so important?

Should Our Joy Depend on Our Circumstances?

“When I was a young pastor, a church elder detected my discouragement one day and gently said, ‘It will look better in the morning.’ This simple advice has helped me countless times since. Often after I’ve experienced a good night’s sleep and a brisk run, God has felt nearer, my problems smaller, the solutions clearer, and my future brighter.”

Why you should recycle your sermons

Stephen encourages pastors to feel free to recycle their sermons rather than preparing a new one for each occasion.


  • When the Bible Seems Confusing, Lean in and Look Close

    When the Bible vexes us, when it befuddles us, when it talks over our heads or down to our sensibilities, guest writer and author of From Eden to Egypt, Alex Duke tells us this is an invitation to lean in and look close. #Sponsored

  • Foremost false teacher

    The World’s Foremost False Teacher

    In the days since Pope Francis died, I have seen a number of Protestants write about his legacy. Some of these writers have expressed great appreciation for him while others have expressed great concern. The reactions to these articles, and especially the critiques, have been interesting to me. Some people have expressed dismay that their…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (May 5)

    A La Carte: Do you see the Holy Spirit? / Joy in a doom-and-gloom news cycle / Comfort when we least expect it / How to get people to be friends with machines / The internet perpetuates our spiritual dementia / Kindle deals / and more.

  • The Dark Shadow on the Short Grave

    The Dark Shadow on the Short Grave

    As the great Friend of children stooped down and leaned toward the cradle, and took the little one in his arms and walked away with it into the bower of eternal summer, your eye began to follow him, and you followed the treasure he carried, and you have been following them ever since. And instead…

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    Weekend A La Carte (May 3)

    A La Carte: When the world seems to be winning / Carson, Keller, Piper / Honesty over performance / Those who walk with sorrow / Why God allows temptation to remain / Failing and falling / and more.