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Steve Durkac

Hope thru Scripture

 
 
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Category Archives: Simpler Church

Simpler Church posts are related to best practices of pastoral ministry and leadership for simpler expressions of church communities.

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A Pastor is a Shepherd

Steve Durkac Posted on August 16, 2023 by Steve DurkacAugust 20, 2023

There is one verse in Scripture that gives us God’s intentions of calling pastors into the service of His church and its Ephesians 4:11 which states, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” The word that the King James translates as “pastor” is actually the word for “shepherd” and that is … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged chaplain, church, Ephesians 4:11, Pastor, pastoral care, shepherd

Hospital Etiquette for Pastors

Steve Durkac Posted on August 4, 2023 by Steve DurkacAugust 20, 2023

If you are a church pastor or a church lay person who has taken up the assignment of visiting church members during their hospital stay, this post is for you. I want to address seven points of etiquette and guiding principles when it comes to visiting a parishioner in the hospital. Unless you work in a hospital, the dynamics and … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged hospital etiquette, hospital ministry, hospital visit, pastoral care, pastoral ministry

Scripture for Hospital Visitation

Steve Durkac Posted on August 3, 2023 by Steve DurkacAugust 24, 2023

For me, there is nothing more important in conducting a hospital visit with a patient than sharing an appropriate verse of Scripture. Sharing the right Bible verse will provide encouragement and hope for a Christian hospital patient and family. Here, I want to share some Bible verses for you to choose from to share on your visit. You can share … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged Bible Promises, Bible verses, hospital chaplain, hospital visit, pastoral care, pastoral ministry

Theology of Pastoral Ministry

Steve Durkac Posted on April 20, 2023 by Steve DurkacAugust 20, 2023

I want to speak to pastoral care in the context of ministry within the role of serving as a pastor. So here I wish to bullet a few points to consider. • Too often the image of a pastor is built around a “leader-executive” role, but not that of a shepherd. The pastor is expected to focused on getting butts … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged Acts 6:4, Ephesians 4:11, Pastor, pastoral care, pastoral leadership, shepherd-teacher

Church Purposes & Governing Values

Steve Durkac Posted on July 26, 2022 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

When it came to how we did church, CrossHope Chapel held to the following four church purposes and seven governing values that guide our practices and focuses as a church.    Biblical Purposes 1. We seek to be a church where one can safely, without denominational bias, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged church, CrossHope Chapel, Governing Values

Pandemic, Western Church, & Simpler Community

Steve Durkac Posted on October 22, 2021 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

I want to continue some thoughts from my last post and email sent to CrossHope Chapel titled “Pastor Appreciation & Keeping Community.” It had occurred to me that some good may come out of  the COVID-19 pandemic for the western church. My thought has been that a remnant within today’s western church may be nudged back to a more biblical … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged Acts 2:42, community, Constantine, Matthew 18:20, simpler, smaller

When Organic Church Goes Bad

Steve Durkac Posted on March 7, 2021 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

Organic things go bad. Fruit grows old, vegetables go rotten, and meat will decay. When it comes to organic church groups, the principle is the same. Organic church can go bad, too. I’ve been mauling over this for sometime now and because my blog gets a good deal of traffic on my Simpler Church category posts, I thought the time … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged Acts 2:42, House Church, Organic Church, Simple Church

Dear Small Church Pastor

Steve Durkac Posted on September 29, 2020 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

There is encouragement for you in the account of Jesus speaking with Peter as recorded in John 21:15-19. Peter was discouraged, he felt defeated, and not exactly engaged in the mission that he had previously responded to when the Lord called him. The focal point of this narrative is in John 21:17 when Jesus said to Peter, “Feed my sheep.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged discourage, discouragement, feed his sheep, John 21:17, Pastor, Small Church, small church pastor

Not Returning to Church After COVID-19?

Steve Durkac Posted on July 29, 2020 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

I have had at least three conversations in the past two weeks with individuals who have told me that when their church goes back to regular in-person worship services, they will not. All three of these people were from different congregations representing Southern Baptist, Pentecostal, and Nondenominational but all three cited a similar reason as to why they are not … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged American Church, church, COVID-19, fellowship, House Church, Micro-Church, start a house church

No Official Church Membership?

Steve Durkac Posted on April 28, 2020 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

The church I serve as pastor, CrossHope Chapel, does not have an official sign on the dotted line type of local membership. You can’t sign anything that says you want to be a member of CrossHope Chapel or you can’t sign any commitment to be a member of CrossHope Chapel. One becomes a member of CrossHope Chapel by being a … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged church, CrossHope Chapel, membership, parishioners

Will COVID-19 Change American Church?

Steve Durkac Posted on April 6, 2020 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

The COVID-19 crises is changing the ways we do life in America, and it is yet to be seen how much of those normal ways of doing life will return. I suspect a good deal of what was normal a few months ago will come back, but I also suspect a lot will not. I also suspect that it won’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged America, American Church, church, coronavirus, COVID-19, House Church, Simple Church

The Post-Coronavirus Church

Steve Durkac Posted on March 29, 2020 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

The coronavirus is challenging many of the ways we do life in America. Some businesses are discovering that employees can work from home, families are adjusting to actually spending more time together, and church members are realizing that a weekly formal program may not be as necessary to their personal spiritual growth as they once thought. I am guessing that … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged Brad Brisco, church plant, CrossHope Chapel, House Church, Micro-Church, Non-traditional Church, nontraditional church, Simple Church, Steve Durkac

Organic Pastor in Simple Church

Steve Durkac Posted on September 16, 2019 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

In 2006 I was working at a local hospital as a chaplain and taken back by a high number of patients who could express and articulate their personal belief in Jesus Christ and convictions in biblical doctrines, yet who also had no involvement and fellowship in any church congregation. Many of these same individuals also shared stories with me of … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged church planting, church start, House Church, Micro-Church, Organic Church, Pastor, pastoral ministry, Simple Church, start a house church

12 Statements of Advice to a New Pastor

Steve Durkac Posted on May 10, 2019 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

I belong to a Facebook group of some 4000 small church pastors, and recently someone asked what “What would be your advice to a new pastor?” The first thought that came to my mind was “Study, study, study.” Then as I thought it over further, a slew of things came to mind, so here they are… • Study God’s Word, … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged advice, church planting, new pastor

Advice to a Church Planter on a Theology of Pastoral Ministry

Steve Durkac Posted on May 10, 2019 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

If we were to meet over coffee to talk about your hopes to plant a church, I would begin by asking you if you have developed a theology of pastoral ministry. A theology of pastoral ministry isn’t much different than having a theology of God or a theology of the return of Christ or any other conviction of biblical beliefs. … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged 1 Peter 5:2, Acts 6:4, advice, church planting, Ephesians 4:11, pastoral theology, theology of pastoral ministry

Why Not to Start a House Church

Steve Durkac Posted on December 5, 2018 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

Don’t start a house church because you want to be in charge. That’s not a good reason. Worse yet, you can not sustain a house church if you just want to be the boss. My personal opinion is that it is perhaps the one really bad reason to want to start a house church. I happen to think that starting … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged CrossHope Chapel, House Church, Organic Church, pastoral ministry, Simple Church, start a house church

Sport Fans vs Church Fans

Steve Durkac Posted on November 26, 2018 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

There was once a time while I was serving as a hospital chaplain that my family and I attended a new and growing Baptist church. We loved the fellowship, the church, the vision for growth, but there was one thing that use to drive me nuts…the pastor would often say “Why do you get so excited about your favorite sports … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged church, church attendance, Karl Vaters

We Are Church

Steve Durkac Posted on November 24, 2018 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

Francis Chan has the left the mega church world and is now focused on ministry through his We Are Church house church network. I happen to like Francis Chan and I have a greater respect for his voice when it comes to advocating for simpler and smaller church groups and communities. Here is a video clip that I like and … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged Francis Chan, House Church, We Are Church

Church Today, Evil?

Steve Durkac Posted on September 21, 2018 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

That’s what Francis Chan called it, but I would disagree with calling today’s consumerism church gatherings as out right evil, and I also think Francis Chan didn’t mean it as harshly as he said. Evil is something with an intention to deliberately harm, and I’m guessing Francis Chan meant to stress the “harm” done by a consumerism church, not that … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged American Church, Francis Chan, House Church, Simple Church

More on Today’s Church

Steve Durkac Posted on September 4, 2018 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

A few weeks ago I posted on 2 Corinthians & God’s Word and got into a bit of a rant on my observations on the waywardness of today’s church with a trend away from preaching from the Bible. You can read about that at https://www.crosshopechapel.org/2-corinthians-gods-word/. Sunday I shared about a comment in our pastors’ Facebook Group from a new minister who … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged American, Bible, church, John 12:32

Simple Church Communities

Steve Durkac Posted on August 21, 2018 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

In a previous post I gave a definition for what I think when I use the term “Organic Pastor” and you can find that post here. In this post I would like to help you understand just what I mean when I use the term “Simple Church Communities.”  My definition of the term “Simple Church Communities” is any gathering of people for … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged church planting, House Church, Matthew 18:20, Organic Church, Simple Church, Small Group

Pull or Push Leadership?

Steve Durkac Posted on August 15, 2018 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

I can remember one of my Old Testament professors discussing the difference between leaders who pull and leaders who push. He explained the difference by sharing with the class something he witnessed on a trip in the Middle East while he was traveling from a teaching assignment in Israel to a new teaching assignment in Ethiopia. He explained that when … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged leadership, Pastor, pastoral leadership, shepherd

A Definite Aim

Steve Durkac Posted on August 14, 2018 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

David Jones was a British teenager who wanted to make a career out of his love for music. He was playing and performing his music before he ever graduated from school. He became a leader of several bands and finally recorded his first album. The album received positive reviews by England’s harshest music critics, yet it sold little. In a … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged goal, leadership, Pastor, pastoral leadership, purpose

10 Qualities of Leadership

Steve Durkac Posted on August 14, 2018 by Steve DurkacAugust 9, 2023

There is a difference between leadership and management. You may be a workplace manager, but not necessarily a workforce leader. You may even have supervisory responsibility of employees, but that doesn’t automatically make you a leader. Leaders differ with managers in that they posses and practice qualities that allow them to succeed in motivating people. They don’t just manage projects; … Continue reading →

Posted in Recent Posts, Simpler Church | Tagged business, leadership, market ministry

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