WE OUGHT TO TELL THE WHOLE TRUTH… A quarter century ago some of us were studying the Scriptures in seminary, preparatory to becoming ministers of the Christian gospel. The temper of those times often tried our souls. The optimistic liberalism, conceived in the fertile minds of such men as Schleiennacher and Ritschl and nurtured by a […]
No, the purpose of this article is not to instruct you on what refreshments to serve when your pastor or elder visits in your home; but rather, it deals with how you may prepare yourself mentally and spiritually for a pastoral visit. God has given […]
Mickey Mouse is 65 years old. Over 12% of the US population is 65 or older—over 30million people. The US Federal Government spends nearly 30% of its annual budget on people age 65 and older. By 2025, that amount could well be 50% or over. The fastest growing age group in the US is the 85+ generation. […]
Over recent years, this column has sounded a call for pastoral care by elders (especially). For that period of time, I have argued that many Reformed churches are losing touch with the divine pattern for the care of Christ’s church precisely because we have allowed ourselves to think of the eldership as an administrative board […]
In the last article, I suggested a variety of ways in which ministry to those in nursing homes could be made more significant, more exciting and more profitable. In this one, I want to direct your thinking to your care of the retirees in the life of the church. Some of those who read these […]
In the last two articles in this series, I made several observations in the course of establishing a pastoral strategy for the care of older members. The first was to argue that elders and deacons, not to mention preachers, have a heavy responsibility to care for those in nursing homes. Their special needs, brought about […]
There it was, right in the Minutes: “Consistory decided, by motion, that the church would provide pipe tobacco for the Elders and Deacons for use during the meetings. It was also decided not to provide cigars, due to cost and widely differing preferences.” The wording is mine, because I’m operating on about 20 years of […]
Several years ago, a group of elders asked me to help them out prior to a series of visits they were planning to make to individuals and families in their responsibility district. The specific help they were looking for was not an unusual request. “Help us tie the visit together with a unifying theme so […]
Over the years I’ve written this column, I have tried to sound several constant themes. One is that the Biblical work assigned to an elder is pastoral in nature rather than administrative, as many churches seem to envision. Another is that the deacon is assigned responsibility over a wide diversity of the gifts of God’s […]
(If TV stations can show reruns, this column can repeat articles printed some time ago. This article, on the Biblical understanding of the nature and spirit of the office of elder, was first printed about 5 years ago. It is reprinted here without apology to those who read it the first time. Fact is, many […]