10 Things We Wish We’d Learned in Seminary
This brief list was inspired by a blog post by Ben Reed at http://www.benreed.net/. Once I read it, I thought I’d jot down my own top ten list and I asked Bill Easum to do the same. I found it interesting to see what we identified. Bill T-B’s List That today’s churches need leaders more than […]
Jesus Was Always on Vacation: Leading from Freshness Rather than Frazzle
A couple of days ago a longtime pastor friend of mine asked if I would re run an article I did several years ago. So here goes. Too many of the pastors I meet these days look like they just stuck their finger in a light socket. They appear frazzled, dazed, and downright worn out. […]
Tragedy in the Making
I caught a glance at a blog post from Serene Jones, the president of Union Theological Seminary, and was struck yet again at how little surprises me, but I never cease to be amazed. The post is titled “Why Attend Seminary?” and somehow my curiosity was roused and I glanced through her musings. It was […]
Status Updates Matter
I’m always amazed, but seldom surprised, by the content of status updates I see church leaders, especially pastors, making these days. One pastor was apparently having a bad day (or week, month, year, or ministry… I wasn’t sure which) and he let the world know that life pretty much sucked for him. I wondered what […]
For Long-Tenured Pastors
Anyone who has stayed at a growing church for more than 15 years knows that several things are inevitable. Sooner or later you will hit burnout. I did my 10th year. It was so severe that I told my board I wanted to quit. Instead they sent me off for a three-month sabbatical. It was […]
Summer Slump is Coming
The “summer slump” that many declining churches experience is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Most declining churches actually take actions that lead to a summer slump: they combine worship services and the choir takes the summer off. No wonder church attendance is down in the summer. Ever wonder what would happen if your church was a year-round […]