Grieving Your Losses in Ministry
When someone decides to step out of ministry leadership because of some sort of wounding, it is often not one incident, but rather the weight of several. Terry Wardle says that "ministry is a series of ungrieved losses." I have heard this phrase several times in my years of ministry, but it is only as I prepare the enter my third decade of vocational ministry that I have begun to realize how true it is.
How To (Effectively) Lead Different Types of People
It’s a good thing when not everyone on your team is like you. Most leaders would agree with that statement. After all, we know that great teams include different kinds of people: People with different giftings, who are from different backgrounds, and who have different skills.
Preaching like a Shepherd (How to love the people you're preaching to)
When you prepare a sermon, you are creating content that you plan on delivering well. But preaching’s far more than just developing content and then delivering it well. It’s deeper somehow, and richer. And the reason that is so is this: the love of a shepherd.
The Gift of “Stay-ers” in Ministry
Over the past couple of decades of ministry, there have been many people who have been a gift. People who jump in, who serve, who give, who encourage; people who bring a smile to my face when I see them.
Some Goals I Have (As a Pastor and a Dad)
How Christians Should Respond to Opposition (And Why We Rarely Do it Right)
Shepherding Exiles
A this-is-not-our-home post seems fitting for the day after an election here in America. I’m putting the finishing touches on it a few days before the election, so it’s not written based on any particular outcome.
Peter addresses his first epistle, "To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia…” (1 Peter 1;1, ESV). An exile is someone who is away from their home, staying in another place with the expectant hope that they will return.
Why You (Yes, YOU) Ignore What Matters Most in Leadership
I almost didn’t write this post.
The main reason is that it feels like most leadership writers have written on the content you’re about to read. If you follow a lot of ministry or leadership blogs, this may not even been the first article you’ve read on the topic this week.
Do I Plan to Forsake it All?
I’m a planner. I plan my day, I plan my week, I plan for ministry. I even enjoy doing a monthly budget plan with my wife.
The fact that I’m such a planner is why I’m so convicted by Jesus’ invitation to “count the cost.”
Are the People You Lead Flourishing?
I wish there was a scorecard or rubric for being a pastor. You know, something that would let me know whether I was leading well and basically…being a good pastor.
Some days it’s pretty clear. Most of the time, it’s not. But the real issue is that day in and day out, we have no idea how to tell whether we are leading well. But I think there’s a question we can ask that can at least give us an idea.
People In Your Church You Don't Say "Thank You" to Nearly Enough
One of the most important things you can do as a leader is to say “thank you.” However, pastors and ministry leaders rarely make the time to go out of their way to express their gratitude to those who give freely of their time and resources to help their local church do what God has called it to do.
Be honest: when was the last time you intentionally thanked the following people—with a note, gift, or phone call—for their service to you and your church?
The Difference Between Copying and Learning
Stories that Inspire and Communicate Vision
Perspective Leads to Gratitude
Perspective often leads to gratitude, does it not? This is not to say that we should always seek to be comforted by the fact that someone else is enduring a more acute form of suffering than we are. However, when we seek a bit of perspective, we find that what we take for granted is actually something we ought to be extremely thankful for.
Some Pros and Cons of Going to Seminary
The reason I went to seminary was simple: I wanted to be a pastor. In the ministry circles I was a part of, if you wanted to be a pastor, obtaining a graduate-level seminary education was an integral step.
Questions From Teenagers on God, Faith, and Life in General
A few years ago when I was leading a youth ministry, we did a series that attempted to address questions teenagers in our youth ministry were asking. Each week, the message centered around a particular question voted on by students.