Top Blogs To Encourage Pastors
July 28, 2007Recently, Said At Southern listed five blogs to encourage pastors. This got me thinking about some of the blogs I’ve found most helpful for pastoral ministry.
So, in no particular order:
1. Pure Church – Thabiti Anyabwile consistently writes posts which are Scripturally sound and pastorally aware. Some of his series (for instance, what a good pastor is to do) are excellent.
2. Mark Dever @ 9 Marks blog and Together for the Gospel – What can I say? Dever’s reflections on ecclesiology particularly and the role of church leaders have been unswervingly biblical and a tonic for much that ails the church in our day.
3. Biblical Preaching (Peter Mead) – Peter is fairly new on the block, but I’ve really appreciated his posts. He is quite prolific – often several posts a day – and writes short, thought provoking articles on all things relating to preaching.
4. Desiring God Blog – Its hard to look past John Piper and co. Not always aimed at pastors, but as much as anything DG will keep you focused on your walk with God and the temperature of your worship.
5. Justin Taylor – There are just so many helpful links and articles JT links to, this is a must visit for pastor’s who use the internet.
Of course, there are many other excellent Christian blogs that I read which help me to be a better Christian. However, one thing that hit home in doing this exercise was how few blogs are devoted specifically to pastoral issues (9 Marks and Pure Church being exceptions). Perhaps there is a gap here that needs to be filled? Or maybe there are other blogs that I’m missing.
Any thoughts?
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Other Toolbox This Week
* Excellent Commentaries List
* Sermon Evaluation Form: Calvin Seminary
* Mohler on Music
* Potter and the Preacher
* John Stott Bows out at Keswick
* Henry Center Media
* When Graham Preached Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God
* In What Ways Should The Pastor View His Ministry?
* Learned This Sunday Night: Nothing but the Blood
* Get A Preaching Resource Team
unashamed 
On your comment about “how few blogs are devoted specifically to pastoral issues”, my hunch is that such issues are inherently more personal than “homiletic issues”. It also tends to be “hidden work” and not out in the public arena, like preaching, thus making for trickier blogging. Still, there are some blogs in my feeder that regularly deal with things pastorally (I think WordPress limits you to two URLs if you format them as hyper-links, so here they are “unlinked”, as it were):
* Paul Martin’s “Kerux Noemata”:
http://preacherthoughts.blogspot.com/
* Mark Lauterbach’s “Gospel Driven Life”:
http://mrlauterbach.typepad.com/gospeldrivenlife/
* Guy Davies’ “Exiled Preacher”
http://exiledpreacher.blogspot.com/
They are not devoted to pastoralia as your blog is to preaching, but pastoral issues are a regular part of their blogging subject matter — and I keep learning from each one of them!
SHALOM, David Reimer
David,
Thanks for those links – I’ve added the first to my own reader now (I think that is Tim Challies’ pastor?).
The second point you make about pastoral ministry often being a ‘hidden work’ is true, but I wonder if this is often precisely the problem for those of us who want to learn how to do it. It is easier to watch and listen to a model of excellent preaching (in the public sphere) than to witness excellent pastoral work (often taking place in private).
For this reason, I would love many more experienced pastors to write openly and specifically about how they go about ‘personal work’ in their weekly routine. I guess I’m saying ‘don’t just tell me how to pastor from my pulpit; tell me how to pastor in the hallways, coffee shops, and homes of those I shepherd.’
Sounds like you’ve got a good-and-proper blog post (not just comment!) in the making there, Colin! Meanwhile, this series sticks in memory from Paul (“Pastor to Challies”) Martin’s blog. Is that the kind of thing you have in mind?
Yes! – Very good posts…
Now I’m seriously thinking about giving one day on UA to practical pastoring topics (though, I do include preaching in ‘pastoral work’). All this has whet my appetite.