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who are these guys?
by Matt Markins
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I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER sitting with him at a picnic table in the park each Thursday during the summer following my senior year. We studied First Timothy, and he took time to explain the book verse by verse. We finished just in time for me to leave for college.
I met another during college. I remember sitting at Cracker Barrel enjoying flaky biscuits and steaming coffee while he explained the elements that go into preparing a sermon. And when I called him late one night after a rough week, he promptly invited me over. I headed to his house at 10:00 p.m. While others were getting ready for bed, he took time out of his exhausting schedule to council me.
I’ve heard story after story. Some visit the hospital daily. Others disciple entire families after leading them to Christ. Still others cry with hurting people, confront sin in love, and restore broken lives in the process—even when it hurts.
Who are these people? Pastors.
The month of October is set aside to honor pastors. October 15, 2007 has been designated National Pastor Appreciation Sunday. If your pastor goes above and beyond the call of duty in his dedication to the Lord and his love for the congregation, consider giving him something that says, “Thanks. We love you, and we know how much you care.”
They love. They live. They care. This is your opportunity to tell them you notice.
Consider one of these fine choices:
by Robert E. Picirilli
ISBN 0892655690
Price $12.99
Teacher, Leader, Shepherd is not a how-to book for pastors. Instead, it is an examination of the New Testament’s teaching on the pastor’s role in the church. Picirilli, who taught Greek and New Testament at Free Will Baptist Bible College for more than forty years, ably treats the passages that pertain to the pastoral office.
While the author takes an exegetical approach to the passages considered, he includes practical exposition of the implications of those texts. His discussion of the pastor’s call, qualifications, and role is grounded in a careful exegesis of the relevant passages.
This volume will benefit those who are just entering the pastoral ministry as well as those who have pastored for many years.
 The Works of Arminius
By James Arminius with an introduction by Stephen M. Ashby
This three-volume set of the writings of James Arminius is a reprinting of the London edition, the English translation by James Nichols (1825, 1828) and William Nichols (1875). The Works of James Arminius is an anthology of classic Protestant theology, pertinent to scholars interested in the Calvinist-Arminian debate as well as to any student of the history of Christian thought.
The Works of Arminius is a classic collection of benchmark constructive theology. It addresses with clarity and precision the difficult issues of theology, such as election to salvation: unconditionally determined or based upon God’s foreknowledge of man’s future free acts. Is God’s sovereignty overturned by belief in human freedom? Or does mankind after the fall ever possess the natural freedom to do spiritually good things? Does the God of the Bible foreordain sinful acts? These questions and many
more await those adventurous enough to delve into the primary writings of James Arminius.
What does it take to raise a modern-day spiritual champion? If you're like most parents, you think you're doing an okay job—and you probably believe you're doing better than most. But if your goal is to raise kids with a life-impacting faith, that may not be good enough.
Determined to learn the secrets of those who've raised spiritual champions, world-renowned researcher George Barna conducted a series of surveys and thousands of personal interviews with both young adults and their parents In the process, he uncovered a number of common denominators to parenting success. Some of his findings will encourage you; others will surprise you. Be forewarned—raising a spriritual champion takes Revolutionary Parenting.
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