Notable Voices and the Week in Review: August 10, 2019

From Around the Web:
56 Tough Bible Passages (and How to Understand and Teach Them) — Trevin Wax
We take a contested or puzzling passage of the Bible, walk through the most common interpretations, and then recommend how to preach or teach the passage effectively. The podcast is sponsored by the Christian Standard Bible, and we are sometimes joined by scholars and pastors to help us wrestle with some of the harder texts of Scripture.
10 Hardest Lessons for a Pastor to Learn — Facts & Trends
Pastors have to learn many lessons the hard way, some of them again and again until finally they take. Here are my top ten.
Eight Reasons Pastors Get Fired — Chuck Lawless
Over the past several years, I’ve paid more attention to reasons pastors—including some of my acquaintances and former students—have been fired. In some cases, the congregation has been a “knucklehead” group of people who’ve treated a leader poorly; but, I’ve also seen some leaders who invited trouble by doing the following:
Pastor, Don’t Avoid Uncomfortable Topics — Brett McCracken
Pastors, your people are hungry for clear, compassionate, biblical teaching on the difficult topics facing our culture and their own families. Sexuality. Gender. Racial reconciliation. Hell. God’s wrath. Tithing. Church discipline. Divorce. Greed and materialism. War and violence. Charismatic gifts. Christ’s exclusivity. The Bible has things to say about all of these things. And preachers should, too.
This Week at ThomRainer.com:

The Ten Most Challenging Counseling Issues Pastors Face
Some pastors spend a lot of time counseling members. Others do limited counseling before referring the member to someone they view to be more qualified. But all pastors are counselors…READ MORE
Nine Reasons Christians Fail to Evangelize
Many don’t know what “evangelism” is.
We have few evangelistic role models.
Some church members aren’t convinced about lostness.
Some churches have provided no evangelism training.
Fear of the unknown halts our efforts.
We’ve “gotten over” our salvation.
Pastors aren’t taking the lead in evangelism.
We don’t really know many lost people anyway.
We don’t care about non-believers.
Five Reasons Some Churches Celebrate Debt Retirement
by Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe | Rainer on Leadership
http://media.blubrry.com/thomrainer/s3.amazonaws.com/rainerpodcast/Rainer-on-Leadership/Episode560.mp3
Five Updates on Pastoral Attire
by Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe | Rainer on Leadership
http://media.blubrry.com/thomrainer/s3.amazonaws.com/rainerpodcast/Rainer-on-Leadership/Episode561.mp3
Should We Change the Name of Our Church?
by Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe | Revitalize & Replant
http://media.blubrry.com/revitalizereplant/s3.amazonaws.com/rainerpodcast/Revitalize-and-Replant/RR-Episode105.mp3