by Bret Capranica | Sep 3, 2013 | Blogging, Featured Articles, Ordinary Pastor, Pastoral Ministry, Personal
Another re-post from over 4 years ago. I post it again as THE CAPRANICA re-launches its regularity as a reminder of what this blog is about. I am an ordinary pastor. That is, I know myself well enough and I have been around enough extraordinary pastors to be well aware of how ordinary I am. The content, regularity, and writing style found here at THE CAPRANICA all document the degree of my ordinariness. Actually, I enjoy being ordinary. Obscurity is often bliss. Normality, more often than not, is a blessing. The front-lines of the ordinary contain enough excitement, challenge, heartache, and doldrum to keep me focused and engaged in the Lord’s work. I have been an ordinary pastor for over 20 years (I began ministry in 1988 in a rural Texas Panhandle church) and I have never been bored with ministry; I’ve always been busy, and I’m as excited today about serving the church as I was twenty years ago when I began. I really do enjoy being among the ordinary. Ordinary is not often publicly celebrated, but ordinary pastors dominate the landscape of church life across our country; we are, by far, the vast majority. In reality, only a small percentage of pastors in the world could really be called or evaluated as extraordinary. I thank God for many of them . The Savior has used (and still does) a few of them in many influential ways in my life and ministry. Yet, most of us who serve the Lord as local church shepherds will not host presidential forums; books will not host our names as authors; national...
by Bret Capranica | Sep 2, 2013 | Bookreviews, Charismatics, Christian Living, Pastoral Ministry, Video
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by Bret Capranica | Aug 29, 2013 | Biblical Studies, Eschatology, Expositions, Featured Articles, Pastoral Ministry, Preaching
How do you prepare yourself during the week to engage with God and participate in corporate worship on Sunday? Every week our church gives a number of ways to interact with the passage to be preached, and lists the songs that will be sung, in order to help our congregation be better prepared. These posts will also begin to populate THE CAPRANICA each Thursday. Carefully Think Read Daniel 1:1; 2:1; 5:1, 30, 31; 6:1; and 10:1. Where is Daniel? How many kings does he interact with? Read Daniel 1:1-20; 2:26-28; 6:1-10. Why is Daniel where he is and how would you characterize his character? Glance through the headings in your Bible of Daniel 1-6. Make a list of the sort of events recorded about his life. Glance through the headings in your bible for Daniel 7-12. What are these chapters primarily about? Read 12:5-13. What era of human history is being described in these events and when will they be completed? Read Daniel 2:20-23; 4:2-3, 34-35; 6:25-27; 7:9-10, 13-14. What is emphasized about God in these chapters? Prayerfully Meditate What do you learn about Daniel, his friends and what commitment to God looks like in the midst of opposition? Have you every experienced opposition from those outside of Christianity to your faith? When? How? How would Daniel be a helpful example to you? How could Daniel’s overt, God-centered life-style instruct you and how you conduct yourself at work, in your neighborhood, or in our culture generally? Read Daniel 9:1-19. How could this be a helpful prayer to model your own (or congregational) confession of sin? What is the primary...
by Bret Capranica | Aug 28, 2013 | Church History, Pastoral Ministry
I am currently reading through John Piper’s biographical sketches on William Tyndale, John Paton, and Adoniram Judson, from his book, Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ. Here are a few salient quotes from the Introduction and the chapter on William Tyndale. Good thoughts for keeping our afflictions in Christ-centered perspective: From the Introduction God’s design for the evangelization of the world and the consummation of his purposes includes the suffering of his ministers and missionaries. . . God designs that the sufferings of his ambassadors is one essential means in the triumphant spread of the Good News among all the peoples of the world. . . . suffering is a result of faithful obedience in spreading the gospel (14). But this voluntary suffering and death to save others is not only the content but it is also the method of our mission. . . . As Joseph Tson puts it in his own case: “I am an extension of Jesus Christ. When I was beaten in Romania, He suffered in my body. It is not my suffering: I only had the honor to share His sufferings” . . . Christ’s suffering is for our propitiation; our suffering is for propagation (15). So the afflictions of Christ are “lacking” in the sense that they are not seen and known and loved among the nations. They must be carried by missionaries. And those missionaries “complete” what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ by extending them to others. (22). God intends for the afflictions of Christ to be presented to the world through the afflictions of his people. God really means for the body of...
by Bret Capranica | Aug 26, 2013 | Bookreviews, Ecclesiology, Pastoral Ministry, Video
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by Bret Capranica | Dec 1, 2012 | Pastoral Ministry, Prayer, Preaching
Carefully Think Read Matthew 6:9-15. Recall last week’s message; what are we praying for when we ask for God’s name to be hallowed? What does it mean to “hallow” God’s name? Who is being asked to “hallow” God’s name? What is God’s kingdom and when is it “coming?” How is God’s will done in heaven? What are we praying when we ask for it to be done on earth? Prayerfully Meditate In light of Sunday’s opening message on prayer, how have you sought to incorporate it into your own prayer life? When you come to church this Sunday, think carefully about each movement of our time together. What is being emphasized in each part? How coudl this help you as you pray throughout the service? If God is sovereign, why do we pray for His will to be done? Which phrase within this prayer needs more focused attention in your own prayer time? Intentionally Act How will you specifically incorporate the first three phrases of the prayer in Matthew 6:9-10 into your regular time of prayer? Who will you pray for in this way? About what issues will you incorporate these themes as you pray? On at least three occasions this week, open your Bible to this passage and use it as a guide for your time of prayer. How does it help? What is most challenging in doing it? Use this model prayer in 6:9-13 in praying for our worship service this Sunday. Pray for those who do not know Christ and will be present in our service – that their hearts will be opened to God’s greateness,...
