Walking the Tight Rope Between Reserve Chaplaincy and the Pastorate

I trust the following question and answer about chaplain ministry and the local pastorate will provide some opportunity for prayerful reflection by those considering the call. Dear Dr. Milton: May I ask you a question about the chaplaincy? The biggest Continue Reading

God Can Repair Broken Daddies: A Father’s Day Message

Father's Day is a day to remember that God made dads. And when they break, and they can and often do, only He can fix them. 2 Samuel 18:24-19.2; Proverbs 17:6; Ephesians 6:1-4The Bible is very practical and plain, sometimes disturbingly so. Like in the Continue Reading

Journey of a Lifetime: How New Disciples of Jesus Grow

Have you trusted in the resurrected and living Christ?[1] Then God has revealed to you that according to His Word, the Holy Scriptures,[2] your faith is a gift of God,[3] not earned or deserved, and freely bestowed upon you by the Lord of life.[4] Your Continue Reading

My Key Value in Preparing a Professional Reading Plan for U.S. Army Reserve Chaplains

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I have been given the honor of preparing the Professional Reading Program for Chaplains for the US Army Reserves. This program is essentially a career-long study guide to the greatest books—I get to assemble—to help the Reserve Chaplain grow as an Continue Reading

Why Expository Preaching is the Power for Pastoral Ministry

• How can we have an effective pastorate? • How can our ministries, our preaching, support church health? • How can we be faithful in our ministries? There is a parable for young preachers in Walt Disney's Dumbo, the little circus elephant that Continue Reading

Being a Pastor and Speaking Out in Today’s Culture

A pastor I know recently told me that he was criticized for being “too political.” He has heard such an indictment all his ministry, he said. Today he leads a major ministry in America and battles daily for the rights of pastors to speak so that Continue Reading

A Call To Repent And Believe In Jesus Christ

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord (Acts 3.19) Not too long ago I saw a bumper sticker that announced, “Jesus is the Answer.” The driver (who was speeding in fact) was Continue Reading

Thoughts on Faith from a Garden in March and Pastoral Ministry

For a gardener, like myself, March is an in-between month. The dried, gray-brown stalks on the oak leaf hydrangea, left over from last autumn, stand at attention, like a proud, old war veteran in his outdated, ill-fitting military uniform. And like a Continue Reading

Difficult but Necessary: Relinquishing Leadership in Winter to Renew in Another Season of Ministry

March 11, 2013 Dearly Beloved in the Lord: I greet you in the name of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. I write you to also make an announcement that must come on the heels of a series of providences that both surprised me and have tried me—body and Continue Reading

Recalling Glory to Recover Obedience

Holy remembrance of God's grace and sovereign dealings with us yesterday, works grateful obedience to His Law today. Thus, the Lord God taught Israel to recall His glory in the wilderness, so to follow Him gratefully in the Promised Land. To meditate Continue Reading