The Chief Shepherd knows exactly what is needed for His flock to flourish – good shepherds! And that is precisely what He gave to His church on the day He ascended on high (Ephesians 4:8-12). Further, in His word, He has provided a complete shepherd’s handbook that outlines exactly how such shepherds can shepherd well. For stupid shepherds who ignore His counsel, there will be sadness and loss (Jeremiah 10:21). But for those who hear and do what He prescribes, these good shepherds will someday stand before the Chief Shepherd and receive an unfading crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4). What a promise! Jim Fleming has spent over four decades studying and ministering as a local church shepherd. Now he is passing along what he has learned as his legacy. He hopes that those who read and practice what is in this book will manifest what Jesus expects of His shepherds. For those who do, Pastor Fleming anticipates a fixed and future day when a host of shepherds will join him as they bask in joy before their Chief Shepherd. Shepherdology 101 will help get you ready for this glorious moment.

Dozens of brief yet powerful entries for pastors about what it really means to be on-mission, spiritual warriors who lead the local church from a biblical point of view instead of a modern traditional one.

Pastor John MacArthur combines his passion for the Bible with the training expertise of faculty members at The Master's Seminary to guide seminary students and ministry leaders in developing their pastoral ministry skills. Pastors today can easily become preoccupied with the many pitfalls of modern culture, buying into the idea of image and straying from Jesus's call to shepherd leadership. Pastoral Ministry: How to Shepherd Biblically presents a practical pastoral theology aimed at showing pastors and pastors-in-training the vital role God's word plays in shaping the preparation and maintaining the priorities of pastoring. The authors examine the biblical teaching about the high and demanding call to ministry required of any spiritual shepherd. You'll learn how to pursue intentional growth through the stages of calling, training, and ministering to God's church—along the way, uncovering answers to questions such as: How does the Bible establish a philosophy of pastoral ministry, and what is it? Who is personally qualified to be an undershepherd of God's flock? What are the biblical preparations required of shepherd leaders? What priority does God's word place on activities involved in pastoral ministry? United in affirming shepherd leadership as the biblical model for pastoral ministry, The Master's Seminary faculty contributes a treasury of expertise alongside insights from well-known Bible teacher John MacArthur. This book will inspire any pastor dedicated to serving God's church in the pattern of Jesus Christ.

A beneficial resource that aids both leaders and congregations. In his more than fifteen years as the pastor of a small church, Glenn Daman has learned what it takes to make a church board successful. In Developing Leaders for the Small Church, Daman explores the nature of spiritual leadership, illustrating why the focus of a church board shouldnt be dictated by organizational duties, but guided by spiritual responsibilities.

Based on the author's international seminars, this easy-to-follow guide to expository preaching carefully leads readers through the seven steps of the Scripture sculpture process, giving many practical suggestions along the way. Includes illustrative charts and examples.

This title offers a comprehensive analysis of Baptist theology. Embracing in one common trajectory the major Baptist confessions of faith, the major Baptist theologians, and the principal Baptist theological movements and controversies, this book spans four centuries of Baptist doctrinal history. Acknowledging first the pre-1609 roots (patristic, medieval, and Reformational) of Baptist theology, it examines the Arminian versus Calvinist issues that were first expressed by the General Baptists and the Particular Baptists; that dominated English and American Baptist theology during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from Helwys and Smyth and from Bunyan and Kiffin to Gill, Fuller, Backus, and Boyce; and, that were quickened by the 'awakenings' and the missionary movement. Concurrently there were the Baptist defense of the Baptist distinctives vis-a-vis the pedobaptist world and the unfolding of a strong Baptist confessional tradition. Then during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the liberal versus evangelical issues became dominant with Hovey, Strong, Rauschenbusch, and Henry in the North and Mullins, Conner, Hobbs, and Criswell in the South even as a distinctive Baptist Landmarkism developed, the discipline of biblical theology was practiced and a structured ecumenism was pursued. Missiology both impacted Baptist theology and took it to all the continents, where it became increasingly indigenous. Conscious that Baptists belong to the free churches and to the believers' churches, a new generation of Baptist theologians at the advent of the twenty-first century appears somewhat more Calvinist than Arminian and decidedly more evangelical than liberal.

In Salvation and Sovereignty, Kenneth Keathley asks, “What shall a Christian do who is convinced of certain central tenets of Calvinism but not its corollaries?” He then writes, “I see salvation as a sovereign work of grace but suspect that the usual Calvinist understanding of sovereignty (that God is the cause of all things) is not sustained by the biblical witness as a whole.” Aiming to resolve this matter, the author argues that just three of Calvinism’s five TULIP points can be defended scripturally and instead builds on the ROSES acronym first presented by Timothy George (Radical depravity, Overcoming grace, Sovereign election, Eternal life, Singular redemption). In relation, Keathley looks at salvation and sovereignty through the lens of Molinism, a doctrine named after Luis Molina (1535-1600) that is based on a strong notion of God’s control and an equally firm affirmation of human freedom.