Author Archives: Michael D Johnson

Remember this: the devil is the father of lies, he is a roaring lion prowling around seeking whom he may devour. Remember too that the devil comes only to steal, kill and destroy and that he is an accuser of people, always judging, always condemning and always deceiving. The reason I mention this now isContinue reading “Resist the devil; Draw near to God”

Dear pastor, I really want to make a difference.  I can’t stand the idea of wasting my life.  The doubts and fears that encroach on me as a pastor can at times be overwhelming: Why have they stopped attending? Why do they insist on acting that way? We just can’t keep going the way thingsContinue reading “I don’t want to waste my life”

Dear Pastor, I have a confession to make: I don’t really know what I am doing.  Don’t get me wrong. I have been trained. I have completed A LOT of schooling and I regularly read books and articles. On top of that, I have over 20 years of ministry experience. But the reality is thatContinue reading “I don’t know what I am doing”

What can or should we do when we become overwhelmed? It seems like life itself is overwhelming. Almost like the very nature of life is to weigh humans down. We ultimately know that is not the case because God created us and gave us life so that we could experience fullness and abundance from Him,Continue reading “Overwhelmed”

Pastors have a million things pressing them from every side. Just to list all the things that pastors do (or are unrealistically expected to do) is overwhelming.  And we have so many obligations and people expect so many different things from us (and we expect so much of ourselves) we often get tired, and fatiguedContinue reading “Waiting before the Lord, waiting on the Lord”

Listen to these amazing words from a great (though perhaps little known) hymn of the church: Peace, peace, wonderful peace Coming down from the Father above Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray In fathomless billows of love Wonderful peace, by W.D. Cornell My heart yearns for this. My body and spirit ache for this.Continue reading “Needing peace”

Do you want things to be different in your life? Do you want to be different and act/react differently? Do you desire to have a different mindset and a different outlook and a different inner state of being? Here is what we must do for things to be different: We need to think on differentContinue reading “For things to be different”

It is easy to paint an imaginary picture of pastoral ministry and/or the people we maybe one day could minister to. But the reality is that God brings upon our path those He desires that we pastor. This doesn’t let us off the hook for seeking people out, or for praying for more open doorsContinue reading “Pastoring whomever God leads you to”

Dear pastor, It often feels like all I have to do to really help my church to become healthy and vibrant and successful is to: Call a few (or ten) more people per week Visit more people every week Text more people every week Invite more people to church Ask people better questions Make sureContinue reading “If I just add a few things to my schedule…”

Dear pastor and fellow minister of the gospel, Isn’t it exciting and amazing to realize we are doing the Lord’s work?! I mean, what you and I are doing matters for eternity. What we are doing will bear fruit even after we are dead and gone from this earth.  The things we are saying, theContinue reading “We are doing God’s work”