When Pastors Are Abused by Their Congregations
By Donavon Riley
10/01/25
13mins

When Pastors Are Abused by Their Congregations

This article is the first part of a two-part series. The second part will take a look at when pastors abuse their congregations.
An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/30/25

An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136

The following entries are excerpts from Chad Bird’s new book, Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of the Psalms (1517 Publishing, 2025), pgs. 311 and 335
St. Michael, Defender of God’s People
Amy Mantravadi
Amy Mantravadi
09/29/25

St. Michael, Defender of God’s People

Why did the church dedicate a day to St. Michael anyway? Who is he, and what does he do?

All Articles

Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/27/21

Have No “Great Expectations” of Your Pastors and Christian Leaders

Our leaders, our pastors, our priests, our teachers, all have feet of clay, just as leaders in Israel did. We do not put our faith in them, even in the ones—perhaps *especially* the ones—in whom we are inclined to have great expectations. They preach the Messiah but are not the Messiah.
Jeffrey Pulse
Jeffrey Pulse
06/26/21

Old Testament: Ezekiel 2:1-5 (Pentecost 6: Series B)

Ezekiel is not called/sent out to be “successful” in his prophetic ministry—he is sent out to be faithful!
Bob Hiller
Bob Hiller
06/26/21

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (Pentecost 6: Series B)

The God whose power is made perfect in our weakness is the God who, in weakness, saved you from sin, death, and the Devil.
David Schmitt
David Schmitt
06/26/21

Gospel: Mark 6:1-13 (Pentecost 6: Series B)

Jesus will bring good news, send His disciples to bring good news, and, in His death and resurrection, become good news for all.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/25/21

The Psalms as the Prayerbook of Jesus and the Church

As the sin-bearer, Jesus was also the sin-confessor in the psalms.
Haroldo Camacho
Haroldo Camacho
06/24/21

The First Beatitude: Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

“Poverty of spirit” is not an ethical value we strive for. It is an act of God’s mercy spoken to the deepest recesses of our soul when it’s overwhelmed by God’s grace.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther
06/21/21

Keeping the Law in its Place

Our certainty is of Christ, that mighty hero who overcame the Law, sin, death, and all evils.
Jeffrey Pulse
Jeffrey Pulse
06/19/21

Old Testament: Lamentations 3:22-33 (Pentecost 5: Series B)

In the overall context of Lamentations this text stands out as a breath of fresh air, or perhaps more accurately, words of relief after so much dismal lamenting!
John Bombaro
John Bombaro
06/19/21

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, 13-15 (Pentecost 5: Series B)

If you truly love the brethren, you will not grudge to help them in their distress.
Peter Nafzger
Peter Nafzger
06/19/21

Gospel: Mark 5:21-43 (Pentecost 5: Series B)

The people you serve are still hanging on by a thread, which is another way of saying they are living by faith.
1517 Publishing
1517 Publishing
06/18/21

Some Thoughts on Christian Hope

Christian hope means always hope in God and hope in Christ simultaneously without distinction.
Haroldo Camacho
Haroldo Camacho
06/17/21

The Scandalous Blessing of Makarios: An Introduction to the Beatitudes

The only one truly blessed of God, who in himself is God’s incarnate makarios, surrounds himself with a multitude of the accursed, the non-makarios.
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