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. […]
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 […]
The last two articles in this monthly column have looked at the first two of the “marks of the true church” identified by John Calvin, with a view to inquiring into the elders’ responsibility to these commitments. In this article and a subsequent one (OK, I’m learning. I know I can’t do it in one), […]
Using the Heidelberg Catechism in Pastoring, Training and Evangelism When the editors asked me to write on the uses of the Heidelberg Catechism, I was grateful for the opportunity for two reasons. First, I love the old Catechism so very much. It is a tender yet strong articulation of the Biblically Reformed faith, and my […]
I have been thinking a lot, in recent days, about the Christian ministry. I wrote an earlier Update (Vol. 5, No. 3, 1996) on the subject of divine call to the ministry. I can’t seem to get a growing concern for pastoral integrity out of my mind. My exposure to the church across North America […]
Recent involvement with several wounded believers, grieved by the failure of prominent pastoral leadership in regard to the care of their souls, has underscored for me at a profound level the urgency of what I wrote in the last Update (Vol. 5, No.5, 1996) (reprinted in the January issue of The Outlook). I began a […]
Joe and Bill both attend the same church, which is why Bill hired Joe to build his backyard deck. During construction, Bill made a few simple design changes that did not change the size or the amount of work required. Joe agreed, but charged more, citing the standard contract stipulating that changes would be charged […]
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first […]
If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three […]