Jump directly to the Content

The Learning Curve

A doctoral student analyzed the preaching of John Bisagno not long before his retirement from 30 years as pastor of First Baptist Church of Houston. Bisagno had intentionally changed his preaching style four times to meet the changing needs of his congregation—from evangelistic to doctrinal, then expository, and finally to a conversational style espoused by Rick Warren.

We asked what other intentional changes pastors make in the course of their ministry.

A plan to pray


A dozen years ago, I found a simple way to make prayer prominent in my weekly schedule. Our family had been going to the Rocky Mountains on vacation every summer for 25 years. Each summer, my wife gave me a half day to seek a quiet trail for a solo prayer retreat. It was always a renewing venture in the high country, alone with the Lord.

Then one year I asked myself, "Why do I do this only once a year? Why not once a week, all year long?" This launched a habit that has locked prayer into my schedule amid the squeeze of pastor's ...

March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLISHER
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLISHER
From the Magazine
Empty Streets to the Empty Grave
Empty Streets to the Empty Grave
While reporting in Israel, photographer Michael Winters captures an unusually vacant experience at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close