The Thoughtful Pastorate: Resources to Strengthen Ministry and Christian Life, Pt. 2

The resources I shared yesterday were mostly blogs. They're all free, and they will, if you check them regularly, keep you very much up to speed on the basic thought trends and events of evangelicalism. Even if you don't have time to scan them every day, taking an hour or two each week to scan the listed blogs will help a great deal to keep you aware of challenges to the faith and positive developments.

Here are some other miscellaneous resources that you could check if you have a little extra time beyond the five cornerstone outlets. These are sites to visit on, perhaps, a bi-weekly basis.

1. The Kairos Journal. As a pastor, you have to sign up for this and have someone recommend you for the site. It's geared for pastors who want to think in a Christian way about culture. It's a great preaching resource. The "Daily News" feature compiles important news stories from around the world.
2. The Al Mohler Radio Show link list is a compendium of top news stories and feature pieces from the leading print media. It's a fantastic resource that you should have to pay for, but don't. Subscribe to it by email and it will be delivered daily. Separate from Dr. Mohler's writing.
3. Time or Newsweek. Both of these popular print magazines have their biases, but they do a pretty good job of capturing the latest cultural trends. If you don't want to subscribe to the print versions, you could always scan their websites for the latest headlines. That would be helpful.
4. World Magazine is a solid counterpart to the secular print magazines. It provides Christian perspectives on current events and key trends. I enjoy and benefit from World and find its subscription price worth it.
5. National Review is also a current events-and-trends print magazine, but it's explicitly conservative, often helpful, and sometimes quite funny.

No one wants to pay for news anymore, but if you have a little extra in your church budget, pay for a few of the above magazines. You can of course visit the websites of these outlets, but I personally think it's worth supporting a magazine that you find helpful if you can. It ensures that you'll keep getting what you want: the news. Most magazines don't cost much, either. With that said, it may not be worth getting many magazines due to cost and time concerns.

More resources tomorrow, the final day of this series. Hope it's helpful--please share any useful ones I'm missing in the comments.