Steve Gaines is the Pastor of the historic Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, where he has served since 2005. He has led several congregations over more than thirty years of pastoral ministry. Gaines is also the immediate past President of the Southern Baptist Convention (2016-2018). Steve Gaines is soul-winning pastor, faithful preacher, and prayer-driven leader, whose leadership, counsel, and preaching a sought-after by many. He is also the author of numerous books, including... Pray Like It Matters by Steve Gaines  Share Jesus Like It Matters by Steve Gaines Pray Like This edited by Steve Gaines When God Comes to Church by...

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time with my friend C.J. Mahaney at their annual Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference.  This interview is a snapshot of our time together and provided me an opportunity to share from my heart some key points that I believe will be beneficial to preachers and pastors in every stage of their ministry.  Enjoy!! 2017 Pastors Conference :: Q & A with H.B. Charles & C.J. Mahaney from Sovereign Grace Churches on Vimeo.

I have pastored two churches. I have also been a candidate for two pastoral vacancies during my ministry. I was not a part of the search process of the first church I served. My name was submitted for nomination from the floor during the call meeting. The congregation unexpectedly selected me as its next pastor. I was initially asked to fill the pulpit one Sunday at the church I currently serve. I was later asked to allow my name to be submitted as a pastoral candidate for the church. The church called me to be its pastor several months later....

In the business world, the bottom line is the last line of a financial statement that shows profit and loss. It is about whether the company is earning or losing money. And, as they say, the bottom line is the bottom line. Every field of life and labor has a bottom line. In business, it is making money, earning profits, and increasing revenue. In education, it is passing tests, making grades, or earning a degree. In sports, it is winning games, awards, and championships. Everything has a bottom line. What is the bottom line of Christian ministry? You would think...

Dragons, of course, are fictional beasts - monstrous reptiles with lion's claws, a serpent's tail, bat wings, and scaly skin. They exist only in the imagination.But there are dragons of a different sort, decidedly real. In most cases, thought not always, they do not intend to be sinister; in fact, they're usually quite friendly. But their charm belies their power to destroy. Within the church, they are often sincere, well-meaning saints, but they leave ulcers, strained relationships, and hard feelings in their wake. They don't consider themselves difficult people. Often they are pillars in the community - talented, strong personalities,...

Many spiritual leaders find themselves trapped in a church dominated by the surrounding culture of success. Nothing fails like success and that is so true of spiritual leaders who have mimicked models of leadership other than that of Jesus. The leader gets trapped in the "church world's" version of success with its rewards and punishments. The great temptation is to climb the ecclesiastical ladder, but then you find yourself standing on the top of a very short wobbly ladder, and you are sure to fall because there is nothing dependable to hold onto. If the proper markings of success are...

Blessed Spirit of God, Four evils attend my ministry - The devil treads me down by discouragement and shame    arising from coldness in private meditation. Carelessness possesses me from natural dullness and dimness of spirit;     because in the past I have met with success        and have been highly regarded,     so that it does not matter if I have now failed.Infirmities and weakness are mine    from want of spiritual light, life and power,     so that souls have not been helped,     and I have not felt thee to be near. Lack of success has followed even when...

It struck me one day in a Christian bookstore that most of the "church growth" books I picked up in that store were not books on vision but on image. They hadn't been published to help me see the world in a particular way but to help the world see me - were I a megachurch pastor - in a particular way. They were books that enticed the pastor of limited self-image to be like somebody else the world admired. What a cul-de-sac of emotional poverty this is. These books were published to serve the idolatries of megapastor wannabes. -...

I have just finished one of the most helpful and challenging little books on pastoral ministry that I have ever read (For the record, it always seems that whatever I just finished reading is the most important book I've ever read.): The Pastor’s Public Ministry by Terry L. Johnson (published by Reformed Academic Press). Terry Johnson pastors the Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah, Georgia. I first heard of Johnson when I was given a free book he had written at a conference I attended several years ago (Footnote: For a bibliophile like me, there are few things in the world...

I usually give a “State of the Church Address” each year at Mt. Sinai, during the first midweek service resumes. We call it our “Vision Night” service. But I chose to delay that message this year, not really knowing if I would ever actually get to it. Our congregation is in the midst of a relocation process. The Lord has been answering our prayers and doing great things on our behalf. But these first weeks of the new year have also been rather challenging. We delayed our final planning that would have been completed in October or November, trusting that...