Certainly before Jesus calls us to be pastors, evangelists, teachers or anything else - He calls us to be saints. While I am a pastor, my first responsibility and calling is to be a saint of God. This is not said to diminish the role or authority of a pastor, for God indeed does place His authority for the governance of His church in the men whom He calls and appoints. Yet the fact remains that a pastor, evangelist, or church leader of any stripe must be first and foremost a saint. Letters to Pastors & Other Saints is an appeal to each of us to live up to our first calling. It is a high calling. Before I can be a good pastor, a good leader, a good Sunday School teacher - I must first be a good saint. What is a saint? A saint is one whose motives are right; whose life is holy; whose walk with God is marked by the presence of the fruit of the Spirit - and the conspicuous absence of the works of the flesh. Letters to Pastors & Other Saints is a commentary of the first three chapters of the Apocalypse; and concentrates on the letters to the seven churches of Asia. It employs a historical-grammatical hermeneutic so that we can see the message of these letters much as the original recipients of the letters would have understood them - and then it offers an opportunity to take the poignant intent of these letters and apply them to our own lives and circumstances. So, while it is a commentary in the historical sense of the word, it is also devotional in nature - imploring us to allow the Word of God to become engrafted into our hearts, and bring forth the peaceable fruit of righteousness. May you be blessed as you read.