As part of my research for the chapter on baptism in a book written by the faculty of Southern Seminary, one of the questions I wanted to answer was, “When did churches leave behind the New Testament practice of immersion?” The answer is, “Far later than you probably think.” Most of the students I teach […]
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Culture: The Long Shadow of Racism in America
The institution of American slavery has been called America’s “national birth defect.” “Black Americans were”—in the words of one professor of political science—“a founding population [of the American colonies]. Africans and Europeans came here and founded this country together, Europeans by choice and Africans in chains.” These events happened far more recently than many Americans seem […]
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Church History: The True Story of St. Patrick
This week, in the year AD 461, Patrick of Ireland passed away. Ever since the early seventeenth century, churches have designated March 17 as St. Patrick’s Day. Prohibitions on feasting during the season of Lent were traditionally lifted on this day, and green had been associated with Ireland at least as early as the seventeenth […]
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Family Ministry: Pursuing Diversity in Your Church
Pursuing the Discipline of Diversity “It gets you out of your solitary conceit.” That’s how C.S. Lewis described the impact of worshiping and cultivating Christian community alongside people who are different from us. And yet, in too many local churches, authentic diversity in which people from dissimilar sociocultural and ethnic backgrounds pursue Christ together remains […]
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Podcast: Developing an Urban Missions Ministry in Your Church, with Jesse Eubanks
How could your church begin to engage the poor, the suffering, and the marginalized? And what might God do in your church, if this became part of your vision for the future? With us today is Jesse Eubanks, the founder and executive director of Love Thy Neighborhood. If neighborhood outreach is part of your church’s vision, you won’t want to miss this episode of Urban Ministry Podcast.
[Read More...]Podcast: Loving Your Neighbor in the Inner City
GUEST: Jamaal Williams Click here to listen to this episode of the Urban Ministry Podcast. If you’re the pastor of an inner-city church, should you live in the same neighborhood as your church? And, if so, what are some of the unique challenges and opportunities of living in the inner city? That’s what we will […]
[Read More...]Podcast: Caring for Your Family as a Church Planter
What you do for God beyond your home will typically never be greater than what you practice with God within your home. Whether you’re single or married, with children or without, your family has a profound impact on your ministry. That’s why one of the qualifications that Paul gave for pastors was “to manage his own household well.” So how can you as a pastor or a church planter care for your family well? I have with me today two urban pastors–Charles Shannon and Nick Nye–to discuss this topic. If you want to lead your family well as a pastor, you won’t want to miss this episode of the Urban Ministry Podcast.
[Read More...]Podcast: Developing Deep Community in Urban Contexts
Suppose God has called you to plant a church in the city, and you’re struggling simply to gather an initial core group to launch the new congregation. When someone asks you about small groups, you might wonder, “Do I really need to think about small groups? Why isn’t enough simply to have an outstanding Sunday morning worship experience and deal with groups later, after the church is growing?” If you think that gathering in small groups is optional, you need to listen to this episode of Urban Ministry Podcast. Today, my guest on the Urban Ministry Podcast is Brad House, the author of Community: Taking Your Small Group Off Life Support and the coauthor with Gregg Allison of the book Multichurch. The focus of our discussion is the unique dynamics of small groups in urban contexts and the need for small groups even in the early stages of church planting.
[Read More...]Podcast: Caring for the Souls of Singles in Urban Contexts
There are more than 100 million single adults in the United States. In 2016, 53% of adults in the United States were unmarried, and 64% of these individuals had never been married. Since an overwhelming percentage of singles are moving into urban contexts, urban congregations must learn to minister effectively with single adults. In this episode of the Urban Ministry Podcast, Lilly Park—professor of biblical counseling at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary—joins me to talk about how churches in the city can help single adults to pursue God’s calling for their lives.
[Read More...]Podcast: Caring for Your Soul in the City
Ministry is exhausting! But God’s calling is for us to “fight the good fight, keep the faith, and finish the race” well. If you want to finish the race well, it’s essential that you learn to care for your soul—but many of us have never received guidance when it comes to caring for our own souls. On today’s episode, I’ll be talking with two pastors—Nick Nye from Apostles Church Union Square in New York City and Charles Shannon from The Mission Church in Norfolk, Virginia—about the habits and disciplines that we need to care for our souls as pastors. If you’re tired and burnt out, or if you’re simply wanting to start well in ministry, this episode is for you.
[Read More...]Podcast: What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Urban Ministry
Ministry is filled with surprises—but the types of surprises you face in ministry will be different, depending on your context. Paul, for example, urged Timothy against “myths and endless genealogies” in Ephesus—but the warning he gave to Titus in Crete was against “empty talkers and deceivers.” This week, our goal is to help you to pay attention to the unique challenges of the context where God has placed you. On today’s episode, Timothy Paul Jones talks with Charles Shannon of The Mission Church about the challenges he’s faced in his first year as an urban church planter.
[Read More...]Podcast: How the Inner City Became the Way It Is
To listen or to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, click here. The inner city is defined by poverty—literally. The inner city has been defined as a region in a metropolitan area in which 20 percent or more of households live in poverty and where the median household income is 50 percent or less than […]
[Read More...]Urban Ministry Podcast: Why This Podcast?
Dr. Lilly Park talks with Dr. Timothy Paul Jones, director of the Dehoney Center for Urban Ministry Training, about why an urban ministry podcast is needed and why urban ministry matters.
[Read More...]Podcast: Partnering with Existing Churches in Urban Contexts
Click here to subscribe to this urban ministry podcast on iTunes. GUEST: Jamaal Williams “‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.’ ‘Don’t stop him!’ Jesus replied.” These words from Mark chapter 9 remind us that, whenever we […]
[Read More...]Podcast: Partnering with Other Organizations in Urban Contexts
Click here to subscribe to this urban ministry podcast on iTunes. GUEST: Jesse Eubanks The gospel that we proclaim as believers in Jesus Christ is an all-sufficient for salvation. But the compassion of Jesus calls us not only to seek the salvation of people’s souls but also to care for physical and emotional needs. In […]
[Read More...]Podcast: Preaching in Urban Contexts
Click here to subscribe to this urban ministry podcast on iTunes. GUEST: Jamaal Williams A sermon is far more than merely a speech that tells the truth about a biblical text. A sermon also applies this truth to people’s lives in a particular place. If that particular context is urban, the application changes even though […]
[Read More...]Podcast: What Is Urban Ministry?
Click here to subscribe to this urban ministry podcast on iTunes. GUEST: Kevin Jones In 2010, for the first time in human history, more than half of the people on this planet lived in urban contexts. That’s why urban ministry matters, because people matter. But what are we really talking about when we use the […]
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Leadership: Followership and the Privilege of Pastoral Leadership
All of us are called to follow someone’s instructions. Effective leadership is not forging a solo path ahead of others; it’s learning to follow the right instructions from the right leader at the right time. Dysfunctions in Christian leadership were typically dysfunctions in followership long before they became dysfunctions in leadership.
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Leadership: Why I Had to Rewrite My Book on Leadership
An earlier version of this post was published on The Gospel Coalition website. “‘Touch not mine anointed.’ That’s what this book says!” the preacher stormed, flapping his Bible above his head. “There are people in this church right now who are trying to touch God’s anointed—but I won’t let them stretch their hands against me!” […]
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Leadership: What’s the Point of Priesthood in the Church Today?
This post on prophet, priest, and king as leadership typology is excerpted from my book The God Who Goes Before You. You can purchase the book here. Over the past century, several Reformed scholars and church leaders have presented the threefold office of Christ—the munus triplex of prophet, priest, and king—as a typology for church […]
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