Rick Warren, Christian Today Guest Columnist
Three ways God wants to use your experiences
God wants to use your bad experiences to make you a more effective minister
Rick Warren: Four ways to be a better listener
Good leaders are good listeners. If you want to be effective in ministry, you'll need to be a good listener first. Probably the greatest reason people fail in ministry is not immorality, a lack of intelligence, or poor planning. It's insensitivity.
Rick Warren: God is looking for holy people to use
God is looking for people he can use - those he can bless and honor in great ways. And he's looking to use people who want to be holy.
Rick Warren: Six Worldviews You're Competing Against
Worldview matters. Clarifying worldviews is not an academic exercise, intellectual theory, or a philosophical concept. A worldview is an integral part of the lives of those you minister to on a weekly basis. It determines their relationships.
Rick Warren: Flavouring Your Sermons for Impact
The Bible says in Colossians 4:6 (RSV), "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt." When you cook a meal, the flavouring is not the meat, but it sure makes the meat taste better. The same is true for your sermons.
Rick Warren: Helping You Build Community
I love pastors. My father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all pastors. My sister married a pastor. I married a pastor's daughter, and my daughter married a pastor.
Rick Warren: Seven Principles for Every Project
As a pastor, you need to be able to put together projects efficiently and effectively.
Rick Warren: Learn to Laugh
Did you know that people who laugh live longer? It's true. Proverbs 14:30 says, "A relaxed attitude lengthens a man's life."
Rick Warren: Dealing with Difficult People
When asked what he considered the most valuable skill in employees, John D. Rockefeller once replied, "The ability to get along with people!"
Rick Warren: Following Jesus' Model for Ministry
We hang on to a lot of models in ministry - our pastor growing up, a Christian leader we respect, and sometimes our own parents, for example.
Rick Warren: Protecting Your Mind from Evil
Your mind is a special gift from God. It can potentially store 100 trillion thoughts. And it is a tool that God wants to use in your ministry to fulfill his purposes.
Rick Warren: Don't Let Legalism Kill Your Joy in Ministry
Legalism is a ministry killjoy. It destroys the natural joy that comes from serving others in ministry like nothing else I've seen. I've seen more ministries ruined by legalism than anything else.