The Power to Pastor

Ministry demands an enormous reservoir of physical, spiritual, and mental energy. Where does yours comes from? The energy to minister comes from many places. Not all of them are good. We can minister out of ambition, or self inflated estimation of our Continue Reading

The Wordsmith Journal Magazine Interview

The following interview was conducted by veteran journalist Mary Nichelson of TheWordsmithJournalMagazine.com and appears at http://www.thewordsmithjournalmagazine.com/interviews.html. Quoting from the site: "Mary supports publishers by interviewing Continue Reading

Inaugural Prayer for 9/14/2012

The Reverend Robert E. Baxter is the most noble man of God that I have ever known in my life. He is, now into eight decades of living, a very active preacher and pastor and encourager of the saints. He is the Associate Minister, First Presbyterian Continue Reading

Entrusted with God’s Truth to Extend God’s Grace (2 Timothy 2:1-2)—An Inaugural Address

An inauguration is not a coronation. An inauguration is a consecration—a setting apart for the purposes of God. This service is a consecration of our institution, our vision and values, and a consecration of our very lives, with my life intertwined Continue Reading

Deadly Division and Divine Deliverance: How to Overcome the Greatest Obstacle in Global Theological Mission in the Church Today (1 Corinthians 3:1-9)

The following was delivered to the Lausanne Consultation on Global Theological Education at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. I felt literally divided. There was a Mike Milton before Lausanne in Cape Town, South Africa and there was a Mike Milton 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

I Will Not Let Go of Easter

I will not let go of Easter. More properly, I affirm that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is not something that I will celebrate and remember on one day of the year. In the Reformed faith, that is in the Protestant faith of Martin Luther and John Calvin Continue Reading

A Letter to a Friend in Ministry on Development

I recently received a letter from a friend with a request on thoughts about development. I sought to answer his questions and, in the process, think about our students and what they will face in expectations for stewardship in ministry. I share this with Continue Reading

Neil Postman, Irene Dunne and the Right Use of Entertainment

When the late, great Neil Postman (1931-2003) wrote that we were Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985) he spoke of a generation that we all know too well. Our money, our priorities, our talk, our time and thus our lives, are consumed with a Hollywood Continue Reading

Christmas Eve Order and Bulletin Sample

Christmas Eve worship is one of the most beautiful and inspiring times in the life of a congregation and in the ministry of a pastor. The service may be seen by the pastor as challenging because everyone knows that you are going to say something about Continue Reading