The greatest threat to Christmas isn't secularism or consumerism but our own boredom with the most thrilling story ever told.

In this special Christmas episode of The Everyday Pastor, Sinclair Ferguson joins Ligon Duncan and Matt Smethurst to marvel at the miracle of the incarnation. How can pastors help their people recapture the wonder? The trio also offers practical tips for shepherding well during this busy and emotionally complex time of year.

Recommended resources: 

• Sinclair Ferguson, Love Came Down at Christmas: Daily Readings for Advent
• Sinclair Ferguson, The Dawn of Redeeming Grace: Daily Devotions for Advent

Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at tgc.org/together

Church polity is like stretching. It seems boring until something tears—and then you wish you’d devoted more time to it. Despite their differences (Matt Smethurst is a congregationalist and Ligon Duncan is a Presbyterian), both agree Scripture has a lot to say—more than many evangelicals assume—about how a local church should be structured. This is an underrated topic, and pastors impoverish themselves by not giving careful attention to it.

In this episode of The Everyday Pastor, Smethurst and Duncan explore why church polity matters and its overlooked biblical importance.

Recommended resource: Jonathan Leeman, Authority: How Godly Rule Protects the Vulnerable, Strengthens Communities, and Promotes Human Flourishing

Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at tgc.org/together

When it comes to the art of delivering sermons, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. But Matt Smethurst and (especially) Ligon Duncan have learned helpful lessons over the years.

In this episode of The Everyday Pastor, Matt and Ligon offer practical tips to help pastors reflect on and improve their sermon delivery.

Recommended resources:

• Mark Dever, Application Grid
• Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices

Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at tgc.org/together

What are your rhythms for sermon preparation? How should this be prioritized alongside other responsibilities? How can you grow more efficient and effective while remaining faithful to the task?

In this episode of The Everyday Pastor, Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan discuss the rigors and joys of sermon prep.

Recommended resources:

• The Practical Works of Richard Baxter, Vol. 1: A Christian Directory
• J. I. Packer, Truth and Power: The Place of Scripture in the Christian Life
• Jay Adams, Be Careful How You Listen: How to Get the Most Out of a Sermon
• Joel Beeke, Reformed Preaching: Proclaiming God’s Word from the Heart of the Preacher to the Heart of His People
• Ligon Duncan, “How to Listen to a Bad Sermon”

Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at tgc.org/together

Would your sermons make sense if Jesus didn’t die and rise again? If the answer is yes, your sermons may well be instructive, insightful, and inspiring, but they aren't yet Christian.

In this episode of The Everyday Pastor, Bryan Chapell—a “Jedi master” on the topic of Christ-centered preaching—brings decades of experience to this conversation with Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan on why (and how) to make Jesus Christ the hero of every sermon.

Recommended resources:

• Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon
• Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Sermons: Models of Redemptive Preaching
• Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice

Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at tgc.org/together

Liturgy is all the rage—or it’s not considered at all. In this episode of The Everyday Pastor, Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan discuss the importance of a deliberate order of service, or liturgy, for Sunday worship. God summons us into his presence by his Word, and we respond by his grace. But what does this mean practically for what you do—and don’t—include in your Sunday services?

Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at tgc.org/together

What should churches do when they gather on Sunday? The answer isn’t as obvious as it may seem. In this episode, Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan share how they prepare for Sunday worship in light of their pastoral role. And they discuss the “counterintuitively freeing” effect of rightly understanding the regulative principle of worship.

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW: 

• Greg Beale, We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry

Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at tgc.org/together

In Christian ministry, it’s difficult to think of a greater occupational hazard than pride. But of course, pride can manifest itself in both “loud” and “quiet” ways. How, then, can pastors avoid the perils of pride? This episode of The Everyday Pastor focuses on practical tips for cultivating humility in the service of Jesus Christ.

Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at tgc.org/together

Pastoral ministry is hard, and there’s often plenty to be discouraged about. But amid the hardships, it’s easy to lose sight of the joys. In this inaugural episode of The Everyday Pastor, young pastor Matt Smethurst sits down with Ligon Duncan, who has pastored for two decades. Together they reflect on some specific things they love about serving the church, helping pastors in any season to find fresh joy in the work of ministry.

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• Ligon Duncan: A Tribute to My Mother
• Mark Dever, 2016 T4G: Endurance Needed: Strength For a Slow Reformation and the Dangerous Allure of Speed (“The joy of the elder’s chair”)
• Bobby Jamieson, The Path to Being a Pastor

Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at tgc.org/together

The Everyday Pastor is a new podcast from TGC on the nuts and bolts of ministry. Hosted by Ligon Duncan, with nearly 20 years of pastoral experience, and Matt Smethurst, who planted a church three years ago, it seeks to model how ministers of different generations, levels of experience, and even denominations can apply God’s never-changing Word in a fast-changing world.

It’s not an easy time to be a pastor, but it’s an exciting one—because the Lord is on his throne and his Word is enough to help us navigate the trenches of ministry with fortitude and joy. So join Matt and Lig (and special guests along the way) as they seek to help you think wisely about nitty-gritty issues of everyday ministry.

Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at tgc.org/together