Welcome to the online home of Tim Challies, blogger, author, and book reviewer.
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The Kings of Israel – This infographic “illustrates the rulers of Israel, the years of their reign, how well they reigned and the passages in the Bible where their stories are told. The graphic also forms a subtle cross which is a picture of the earthy kingdom foreshadowing the coming King.” Here is another infographic that displays America’s most and least churched cities. And while we’re displaying information, here’s a handy chart on how to avoid being “that guy” in …
We spent Wednesday night aboard a train that took us from New Delhi to Lucknow. We woke up in a very different part of the country. We were greeted at the station by a friend—a local pastor—who promptly took us to his apartment for breakfast. The city here is smaller, a little less noisy and less busy, and quite a bit less smoggy than New Delhi. The train station was huge and beautiful and built to look British, no doubt …
Here is a pastoral conundrum for you to think about. In 1412 the pre-Reformation preacher John Huss found himself facing a difficult decision. The Roman Catholic Church had excommunicated him for his refusal to burn his copies of John Wycliffe’s writings and now the Church had also leveled an interdict against the city of Prague on his account. This was a scare tactic that meant that for as long as he was in the city, no sacraments could be administered there. …
Fixing the TSA – “Air travel would be safer if we allowed knives, lighters and liquids and focused on disrupting new terror plots. A former head of the Transportation Security Administration, Kip Hawley, on embracing risk.” Represent! – “What an awesome thought – Christ represents us in heaven! The perfect, spotless, Lamb of God pleads his own blood and righteousness on our behalf at the Father’s right hand. He’s the perfect representative! He doesn’t forget a single need. He never …
Podcast Pastor – “When I am talking to young evangelicals, often who are in ministry, and I say, “Who has been really influential upon you in ministry and on learning to preach and to do the things of ministry?” ten years ago, most people would have given me the name of a local pastor who had mentored them and worked with them. Now they are mentioning a disembodied voice that they have heard on a podcast. That’s a very dangerous …
Pastors Who Write Books – Here is some good advice from Barnabas Piper for pastors who want to write books of the sermon series. “When I receive proposals for books or book ideas from pastors I often get something like this as an accompanying comment: “I am the pastor of a X,000-person church, and based on their response to this message I think there is a large demand for this material.” This seems like a reasonable assertion. 80% of the …
Here is something worth meditating on for those who are in pastoral ministry. In his contribution to the book Reforming Pastoral Ministry, Art Azurdia shares some of the temptations that are particularly strong in the ministry of the gospel. To be sure, the minister of the Gospel is vulnerable to trials and temptations distinct to his calling: jealousy (“Why are his gifts more esteemed than mine?”) bitterness (“Why does the congregation criticize everything I do?”) fear (“Will they leave the church …
Of all the books I receive, there is a certain category I find myself filing away and holding on to. Sometimes I read them right away but more often than not I save them for when I’ll need them. These are the books targeted at pastors and dealing with niche areas of the ministry. I want to make you aware of 3 such books, all of which are new releases. The second and third fit squarely in the category, while …
Ministering the Master’s Way is a unique little series published by DayOne. It is a series that knows exactly the audience it is trying to reach–the pastor or elder of the local church. Each of the books looks to a different practical aspect of the Christian ministry. Many of the titles deal with very niche topics, but ones that are largely untouched by any other author–visiting the sick, accepting a call to minister at a local church, offering pastoral comfort …
On Friday evening I’ll be speaking at the 8th Letter Conference here in town. My task is to prepare a letter to the church in North America; this letter is to bring what I think is the message the church needs to hear. It is going to be a wide and diverse audience, I think, and I am looking forward to addressing it. Pray for me, won’t you, as I narrow in on exactly what I want to say? The …