"The hospital room and the funeral home are some of the best classrooms in which to learn pastoral ministry. I have held the hands of elderly saints and prayed over them as they took their last breath. I have won over my ‘enemies’ because I took the time to visit them when they were in the hospital. I have watched despair turn to hope as I’ve sat with a grieving widow and talked about Christ. The hospital room and the funeral home present pastors with learning opportunities that can’t be found elsewhere. Death reminds us of our frailty and brokenness. It jolts our hearts out of the delusion of invincibility. Death restores our focus on the eternal things when we are daily tempted to live in the temporal."

- Michael Carlino

"When a pastor senses he is growing frustrated with a weaker person or is growing impatient over the lack of change and growth, it’s helpful to take a step back and consider this question: How does my timeline for change contrast with God’s timeline? The truth is that we are never guaranteed a certain rate of growth that is the same for every individual. Each person is unique, facing different challenges in the fight against sin."

- Michael Carlino

"Don’t excuse yourself from the biblical calling to set an example for the flock. Yes, you are a sinner, and you are not perfect. God knows that pastors need the cleansing blood of Jesus and the good news of what Jesus has done, just as much as anyone else. But we also know that God sets a higher standard for leaders. Our acceptance before God has already been fully met for us in Christ. So seek to be an example to others in freedom, knowing Christ has already met the standard you could never meet."

- Michael Carlino

"Pastors are called to be guardians of the truth. And like a father protecting his daughter from attack, this calling requires courageous, sacrificial action. A pastor must care for his people, yes, but it means guarding them and guarding the truth by protecting them from false teaching. It means helping them understand and grow in the good news of God’s word…if we lose the truth, we have nothing left to give our people."

- Michael Carlino

"Peter’s exhortation to pastors can be summarized in a single sentence: “Be shepherds of God’s flock under your care until the Chief Shepherd appears.” And in case you missed it, Peter is pretty clear about the who, what, when, and how of a pastor’s biblical calling."

- Michael Carlino