Justin Trapp

This whole business of announcing that you don’t sit with your spouse at church in order to be more “welcoming” seems to me a new form of Pharisaism. It feels like @TGC and @CTmagazine publish these articles and parade the fact that they don’t sit with their spouses at church in order to suggest that they are somehow more holy or spiritual by doing something unnatural that scripture never asks for— separating husband from wife in church services. A lot more that could be said about this both stupid and destructive advice, but this is one of them.

Yesterday was Sunday. Final sermon prep, leading worship, preaching the Word, shepherding the saints. This morning? Back to work. Every faithful pastor bears the weight and joy of shepherding Christ's flock. Bivocational pastors just carry that calling alongside the demands of another vocation. This isn't to suggest that bivocational pastors labor harder or sacrifice more than those in full-time ministry. It's to recognize the unique demands of this calling. Grateful for my fellow bivocational pastors. The Lord sees your labor, brothers.

When struggling with sermon prep, I sometimes think of an old preacher joke. A Pastor once wrote in the margin of his sermon manuscript, "Point weak here. Yell louder." I hope none of us preachers ever actually resort to this.

For anyone not united to Jesus Christ, this life is the best it will ever get. For anyone united to Jesus Christ, this life is the worst it will ever get. One day soon—sooner than we realize—we will wake from the bad dream of this life, clean and radiant and bright with energy. Our hearts will collapse into calm, and we will realize that all our life long the Lord of heaven has been eagerly preparing to walk us through the wardrobe door into Narnia. How many of us view the couple of decades of retirement as our primary opportunity to enjoy ourselves, surrounded by boring work beforehand and boring heaven after? Like a child finishing his morning chores and finally able to play in his sandbox, disappointed when his mother calls him as the family leaves for the beach, a place he’s never been and one he can’t imagine being more enjoyable than the backyard sandbox? This book is my attempt, futile though it has felt, to put words to reality. Perhaps they would be an encouragement to you. Even in the midst of your own heartache and loss. Especially in the midst of your own heartache and loss. You don’t lament the loss of a sandbox on your way to the beach. crossway.org/books/finally-h…

"Healthy things grow." Really? So does cancer. This phrase often (1) baptizes all growth as good or (2) assumes that if it's growing it's healthy. Better to say, "Healthy things bear good fruit."

MONDAYS ARE FOR MINISTRY: 5 Things Every Pastor Needs to Know About Delegation There’s an old leadership saying: “It’s better to put ten people to work than to do the work of ten people.” That’s good counsel for a pastor. But on a busy Monday morning, it can seem easier to do the work yourself. You know how you want it done. By the time you explain it to somebody else, you could probably have it finished. So you do it yourself and wonder why you never seem to get caught up. But next week, that responsibility will still be yours. And the person who could have learned to carry it will still be waiting for an opportunity. Sometimes we don’t delegate because we’re convinced we can’t find anybody we can trust. Other times, we have capable people, but we struggle to trust them because they might do it differently than we would. The first requires us to develop people. The second requires us to examine ourselves. After thirty years of pastoring, I know there will always be more needs than one pastor can personally meet. At Abilene, faithful staff members and volunteers carry real responsibility across our two campuses. Their gifts strengthen our church in ways mine alone never could. I learn this truth early in my ministry: the best leaders are master delegators. They understand that part of getting the work done is developing the people who can do it. Ephesians 4:12 describes “the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry.” That’s part of our calling. There are certain things a leader can’t delegate and still be the leader. There are many things he must learn to delegate if he wants to remain the leader. Wisdom is knowing the difference. Here are five things every pastor needs to know about delegation. 1. Know what to hold and what to hand off. (I know, that kind of sounds like an old Kenny Rogers song.) Everything that needs doing doesn’t have to be done by you. But there are some responsibilities that require your personal attention. This principle goes back to Moses and Jethro. In Exodus 18, Moses was hearing the people’s problems from morning until evening. Jethro saw the strain on both Moses and the people waiting on him. It was obvious, the work was too much for one man. His counsel was immensely practical: teach the people God’s ways, select capable men of character, and entrust them with cases they could handle. The difficult matters would still come to Moses. He would continue leading, but others would share the load. Notice that Jethro’s concern included the people standing in line. When every decision waits on one leader, everybody feels it. At Abilene, there are certain things that really only I can do. For example, I personally teach our membership class, Discover Abilene. (Especially the sections dealing with our strategy and structure.) Our staff helps, but I want to look prospective members in the eye, explain our beliefs and direction, and hear their questions. That’s a pastoral opportunity I don’t want to pass off. Look at your week. What requires your presence? What could someone else learn? What are you holding on to simply because you’ve always held it? Don’t pass off a difficult conversation you need to have while holding on to details someone else could handle. Remember this truth one of my early mentors taught me: If you're always available you won't be worth much when you are available. 2. Prepare the right person for the job. The first person who says yes isn’t always the best person for the assignment. Neither is the person who already says yes to everything. Consider character, ability, interest, and capacity. Can this person be trusted? What preparation will they need? Do they have room for another responsibility? Don’t reward every faithful effort with another assignment until your most dependable people are exhausted. Ask before you assign, especially with volunteers. Explain why you thought of them, and give them room to answer honestly. Then help them get ready. A simple progression works well: Watch me do it. Help me do it. Let me help you do it. Then you do it, and we’ll talk afterward. Use that approach with a hospital visit, a volunteer meeting, or a ministry event. Explain what you’re doing and why. Involve them, let them lead with your help, and then give them room. At Abilene, pairing interns with ministry leaders provides opportunities for that development. As they grow, sometimes moving into a residency, their responsibility can grow, too. Trust develops as people demonstrate faithfulness. Give them an appropriate place to start. Eventually, help them teach somebody else. That’s when the investment begins to multiply. 3. Don’t make people guess what you want. “Take care of that” can mean one thing to you and something entirely different to the person hearing it. Suppose you ask someone to coordinate a volunteer appreciation supper. You’re picturing a simple meal in the fellowship hall. They’re imagining a catered banquet with decorations, gifts, and a guest speaker. Neither of you discovers the difference until somebody starts spending money. A little clarity beforehand can prevent a difficult conversation afterward. Explain the purpose, the desired result, the budget, and the deadline. Identify who is leading and who is helping. Make sure they have the information and resources they’ll need. Then ask them to talk you through their understanding of the assignment. Something you thought was obvious may never have made it out of your head. For a larger responsibility, put the essentials in writing. A brief email gives everyone something reliable to refer to afterward. Explain why the work matters, too. A guest follow-up assignment involves a person or family God has brought through the doors. Help people see the ministry behind the task. People shouldn’t have to read your mind to meet your expectations. 4. If you give them the job, let them do it. You can tell someone they’re in charge and still keep them from making a meaningful decision. If every purchase, schedule adjustment, and volunteer assignment comes back to your desk, you’re still doing the deciding. They’re doing the asking. Explain what they can decide, what requires consultation, and what needs approval. Those boundaries should honor the church’s beliefs, budget, policies, and established decision-making process. Within those boundaries, let them lead. This is where we have to distinguish between doing something wrong and doing it differently. There are biblical convictions to protect, standards to uphold, and commitments to keep. But sometimes our objection comes down to, “That’s not how I would have done it.” That may be true. It may also be fine. Care deeply that the work is done well, and leave room for someone else’s gifts and approach. We can say we want leaders while only allowing people to follow our instructions. Let the team know who carries the responsibility. When someone comes around that leader for a different answer, hear the concern and involve the leader. Don’t casually undo the authority you just gave away. Giving responsibility without authority is a good way to frustrate a good person. 5. Delegate the work. Own the responsibility. You can give someone the opportunity, the assignment, and the authority to carry it out. But you can’t hand off your responsibility as the leader. They’re accountable for doing the work. You’re accountable for the direction, preparation, support, and oversight you provide. “I gave that to somebody else” isn’t a sufficient answer when something important falls through the cracks. Was the assignment clear? Did they have what they needed? Did you check on their progress? Before you ask why they didn’t follow through, ask whether you followed up. Agree beforehand on when you’ll check in. Ask what’s moving forward, where they’re stuck, and what help they need. When a problem comes, ask, “What do you think we ought to do?” Help them develop judgment instead of immediately taking the assignment back. Make it easy to bring you bad news early. If every problem produces an explosion, people will hide problems until they become emergencies. Follow-up is pastoral. An unmade call may mean somebody is still waiting for care. The work matters because the people matter. Address failures honestly, including your own. When things go well, give credit generously. Let the church hear about faithful service that might otherwise go unnoticed. Give people room to lead, but don’t leave them to lead alone. CONCLUSION: This week, identify one responsibility you could entrust to someone else. Choose the person prayerfully, prepare them patiently, explain the assignment clearly, and agree on how you’ll follow up. It may take longer than doing it yourself the first time. But you’re investing in someone who can carry that responsibility next time—and eventually help somebody else learn. That’s worth the time and investment. You’re developing people, expanding your ministry, and helping more needs get met than you ever could alone. That’s equipping God’s people “for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). #ministry #leadership #church #pastor #pastoralministry #pastoralleadership #churchleaderhsip #fivemorethingsbook.

Habakkuk ends his book with one of the most honest prayers in Scripture. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines. Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food.

The pressure is real

I would also point out that the sequels really turn on a full rejection of fatherhood. In many ways, they invert the story told in the first six movies. Luke fails Kylo. He’s not the father figure he should be. And Han fails Kylo. He’s not the father he should be. And then the son kills the father. Instead of following any sort of redemptive arc, Kylo gives in to his evil side and murders his own father. It’s the exact opposite of Luke refusing to kill his father. And consider what they do to Luke. The man whose greatest heroic act was refusing to give up on his murderous father becomes a man who briefly considers killing his own nephew because he fears what he might become. Then there’s Rey. She doesn’t need Luke. She’s already awesome without him. And Luke has become a bitter old man because he didn’t live up to his own idealism. Yoda pops in, but he’s not really much of a father. He mostly just mocks Luke. And Rey gives herself over to the matriarchy more than anything. The characters she learns from, for the most part, are strong, independent, feminist sorts of leaders. She doesn’t need the kind of fatherly guidance that Luke desperately needed in the original trilogy. So you can see the sequel trilogy as a full rejection of fatherhood. Fathers are either failures, obstacles, or unnecessary. Rey doesn’t need a man, and Kylo is ultimately brought back to the good side largely through Rey’s awesomeness.

Congregation pranks pastor by walking out just as he starts his sermon notthebee.com/article/congre…

The reason I am doing what I am doing now is because of *this* sermon. It might be the most impactful 2 minutes of preaching I've ever seen — and it changed my entire life.