Dan Carson

One of the greatest things about being involved in a normative sized church (one that is below 125 for Sunday morning worship) is the opportunity to serve and to have young people serve. While larger churches provide many things, service opportunities can be more limited. Students can often be relegated to non-serving roles when excellence ought to be the primary concern. During my high school years at Springdale Missionary Baptist Church, the church gave me some opportunities to serve. I...

Last year was a difficult one for those of us at Calvary Baptist Church of Fayetteville. We had two deacons, their wives, and our sound man all pass away. More than the roles they played at our church, we will miss the joy and life they brought to our congregation. I’m sure that you have had similar times at your church. If you are leading in ministry, it can be difficult to say goodbye to some of the most faithful people in your church. However, we know that is part of what we sign up for...

One of the things that most of us in student ministry aren’t ready for is having our own children make the transition to the youth group. We don’t think about it, and BOOM, there it is. Suddenly, your son or daughter is staring back at you when you are speaking to the students in your ministry about sexual holiness and other issues we need to address as youth pastors. There wasn’t a class in Bible college that covered that type of awkwardness, and avoiding eye contact with your child isn’t...