Strength for Today's Pastor

Pastor David Rosales has been serving Christ's bride for many years, with almost 50 years of ministry behind him. Yet, because he has remained faithful to the foundations of ministry, and to the Word of God, his ministry is as fresh as ever. Listen in as show host Bill Holdridge asks David about some of those key elements of a Biblical pastoral ministry. Included as part of the discussion: ~ What comparisons/contrasts do you draw between the era of the 60s and our current times? ~ Many...

Ken Graves tells it like it is. When one speaks with Ken Graves, he/she enters into the no fear zone, as it relates to the truth. But as is true with Jesus, grace is sweetly mixed with truth, and the result is an encouraged heart. In podcast #104, Ken tells the story of the fellowship he pastors in Bangor, Maine—and their battles with the powers that be in their state. Points of discussion: Has their been government overreach in in the handling of COVID-19? If government limits its citizens...

Episode 102 of Strength for Today’s Pastor features Pastor Lance Ralston of Calvary Chapel Oxnard, CA. Our conversation today concerns the ideas contained in a new book by author Rod Dreher … a book that contains a message that could have major impacts upon the ministries of pastors, leaders, and churches. A bit about Lance: he has been married to Lynn Ralston for forty years. They have three children and four grandkids. They began Calvary Chapel Oxnard thirty-eight years ago. The church’s...

Mark Gomez has pastored three churches in his years of pastoral ministry, totaling more than 35 years as a senior/lead pastor or church planter. Mark came to Christ as a result of an intellectual conflict with one of his high school teachers... it's an interesting story. He has lived in Utah for 25+ years, which is where he served in his last pastorate. His pastorate was a very fruitful one, one that was effective in reaching members of the LDS church. Now Mark is moving into a huge and...

Sometimes it's surprising ... if not always surprising ... to see who God wants to use. Identifying those whom God has called, and brought into our churches, is a very, very large part of the fruit that comes out of any ministry. So why don't pastors spend more time developing leaders? Are there ways to overcome our negligence, or apprehensions, or inexperience? Host Bill Holdridge will talk with Pastor Bob Claycamp on this all important topic in this podcast. Learned from a seasoned pastor...

Literally nothing that lasts happens without leadership—good leadership—by men and women who are both biblical and Spirit led. Organizations and churches depend upon it. Yet sadly, there oftentimes seems to be a dearth of willing leaders within our churches ... at least not as many as there should be. Pastor Bob Claycamp is a seasoned pastor (40+ years) who is also a pastor of pastors. Bob has made it part of his life's mission to develop leaders. Join host Bill Holdridge and Pastor Bob as...

Again, Bill Holdridge picks the brain of Pastor Phil Evans on the subject of church assessments. Phil came out of a business background and into the pastorate about 40 years ago, and uses the organizational mind that God has given him, a great sense of humor, and a calm spirit to help many pastors. He's become sort of an assessment guru with Poimen Ministries. Give a listen to this podcast if you're interested in having a fresh set of eyes, a non-threatening and encouraging set of eyes, a...

A fresh set of eyes. Face it, we get used to our surroundings—and as pastors, we can become unaware of things we would have noticed X number of years ago. We can sometimes use a fresh set of eyes. In this podcast, Poimen Ministries Director Bill Holdridge talks with Pastor Phil Evans. Phil is excellent at doing church assessments, and has helped many senior pastors with a better and more clear look at their ministries. In part one, we will discuss what a church assessment is, and what it...

This is the third of three podcast interviews with Pastor Al James on the subject of excellence in ministry. If you want to do ministry right, listen to this series. Al is a long time member of the Poimen Ministries team and the founding pastor of Calvary Chapel in Prescott, Arizona (30 years).How can the senior or lead pastor connect with the people in his church? How should he conduct himself, and what are some great ways to reach the people that are attending the church? Of course, this...

This is the second of three podcast interviews with Pastor Al James on the subject of excellence in ministry. Al is a long time member of the Poimen Ministries team and the founding pastor of Calvary Chapel in Prescott, Arizona (30 years).A fresh set of eyes. That's what we often need as we try to evaluate what we pastors do, week in and week out. What does the visitor to your church see when he or she attends? What areas are typical of areas that can be tweaked to make it even better? How...

This is the first of three podcast interviews with Pastor Al James, a long time member of the Poimen Ministries team and the founding pastor of Calvary Chapel in Prescott, Arizona (30 years). Foundational to all true pastoral ministry is the pastor's communion and union with God. Jesus pastored this way as the Good Shepherd (Pastor), and so should the senior or lead pastor of the church. Discover new inspiration for your ministry in this episode. Very practical and timely.

Episode number 100- a real milestone in the ministry of this podcast, but also of over 12 years of ministry as a team of pastors. In this program, the roles are reversed as post production editor Jeff Jones interviews Poimen Ministries director Bill Holdridge. Listen in as Jeff asks Bill about: It's an interesting, and hopefully edifying discussion. Hope you can join us!

Not lord it over others … Leadership by example … Humble … As a child … As the younger … Least … Last … No force … No selfish ambition … No reputation … Human … Obedient … Death on the Cross … Resurrection. These are characteristics of Jesus Christ that all true believers can mimic and live out, by the power of the Holy Spirit. They are also characteristics of the minister of Jesus Christ, if ministry is to be done Jesus-style. Author, preacher, Bible teacher, and long-time pastor Gayle...

For those of you who don’t know Gayle Erwin, Gayle is a long-time pastor, author, conference speaker, and as far as ministry is concerned, he is all about playing the one string he has on his guitar, which is the nature of Jesus. He’s all-in with regard to helping others understand who Jesus is and what that means as His servants. Today we’re going to be focusing on aspects of Gayle’s book The Body Style. How does the nature of Jesus connect with the developing of our churches, and the...

Does anybody even practice what we call church discipline anymore? And if a church does practice church discipline, why do they do it? How do they do it? What is its purpose? Show host and Poimen Ministries Director Bill Holdridge draws from the scriptures, coupled with his experience in pastoral ministry, to make suggestions to pastors about the whys and how's of church disciple. For instance, Bill calls us these principles in mind: To be a Great Commission church, the church must...

What is the purpose of the gift of tongues? What is its most common use? How is it exercised in a corporate setting "decently and in order'? What is the baptism with the Holy Spirit? What is the main evidence of being filled (baptized) with the Holy Spirit? These questions have clear Biblical and practical answers, and Gayle Erwin will help us find out what those answers are. Gayle Erwin is a longtime pastor, Bible teacher, conference speaker, and author. His books included The Jesus...

Gayle Erwin is an international treasure, a man who has allowed the Lord to use his life for many years as an author, pastor, lecturer, professor, and conference speaker. Gayle has (as he puts it) "one string on his guitar," and that string is Jesus and His nature. This podcast is on that subject. How does the nature of Jesus effect the way we live as pastors, and how we shepherd the flocks the Lord has committed to our charge? In Gayle's classic book The Jesus Style, Gayle goes into...

Spoiler Alert: this is much more than a dialogue on church polity. It has to do more with the way a pastor leads, the way he works with his fellow leaders. This stuff is GOLDEN! When Pastor David Guzik was pastoring in Simi Valley, CA, he delivered a message on the subject of church government. In that message, he acknowledged the three major forms of church government and then argued for the validity of a pastor led form of church government. The message was entitled "Church Government:...

Warren Wiersbe served the Lord Jesus well ... and his impact upon the body of Christ, and upon pastor-teachers, is incalculable. Join host Bill Holdridge as he is joined by Pastors David Guzik (https://enduringword.com) and Jeff Jones as they share about the legacy of this faithful steward of God's Word. This interview took place very shortly after Wiersbe's entrance into heaven (Warren Wiersbe: 5/16/29-5/2/2019). Jeff shares about his personal meeting with WW and a great takeaway that...

Pastors of churches of less than 200 people? Did you know that the church you pastor is a 'normal' sized church? Did you know that the normal sized church is called that because it's the normative sized church, world-wide? Are you discouraged because your church hasn't become a medium, large, or mega sized church? Karl Vaters is a current voice, speaking wisely to pastors of small (aka "normal") churches. Since a very, very large percentage of churches fall into this category, it stands to...