Since ministers are not prosthetics but rather flesh and blood, and thus a separation is more like an amputation, then it is unsurprising when bleeding and shock occurs.
All tagged ministers
To the Discouraged Minister
The church minister occupies a unique space. It is a difficult space inhabited by critique and pressure both from within the community and from without.
Onboarding on My Mind
Your new hire isn’t just starting a new job, they’re joining your outpost of God’s kingdom, and we want to take intentional steps to help them succeed.
Hiring a Minister: Five Suggestions for Ministers
If you find that you absolutely must get a particular job, then you end up broadcasting a message to a search team (and just about everyone else) that they must affirm you and validate your plans for the future.
Hiring a Minister: Five Suggestions for Churches
There are various methods that churches can use to search for and hire ministry staff. Regardless of which process is used, all of us in the kingdom of heaven benefit when we share our best practices for hiring.
Thank You for Your Service
I thank God for your leadership and your sacrifice. For many, it goes unseen by the congregation and unacknowledged. But know that you matter, you are valued, you are important to God
Stay in the Room
Don’t miss out on the best things because you won’t get in there and deal with difficult things. Sometimes, if people will just stay in the room, it will be enough.
It's Not Your Ministry!
Ministers often falsely believe that it depends on our skills, our energy, and our sacrifice to bring about God’s agenda in the world. It is time to name this narrative for what it is: a lie!
Ministers in Short Supply
I believe that resilient congregations, pursuing God’s purposes in the world, will find healthy and constructive ways to prepare, support, nurture and partner with ministers in the days to come.
Moral Injury and the Power of Reconciliation
Peter has not lived up to the person he claimed to be, and because of this incongruity, he has experienced a moral injury.
Play the Cards You Hold
If we began our congregational ministry by assessing what we have to offer, we’d likely find it’s a lot.
Spiritual Friendship
The truth of God’s saving grace through faith becomes realer than real when experienced in life, interacting with those who wear skin. We need to have, to be, a friend.
Thoughts on Elders as Shepherds
Many elders are frustrated because all they do is act as a board of directors. Instead of being in the lives of their flock, they’re spending time in meeting after meeting.
Love: It’s Time to Get to Work
Reflecting on years of teaching young students, I am reminded of exercises captioned “Listen and do.” Might this be a simple, yet awfully mature, set of ancient instructions?
Event Spotlight: Cruciformity and ElderLink Houston
As we prepare for our first ElderLink of 2022, we wanted to whet your appetite for our time together. We recently sat down for virtual conversations with our speakers and host.
Grasping the Newness
We can retain the spirit of newness as we face off against burdens and pains, choosing a fresh perspective of hope and promise.
Thinking About Church Leadership in a Different Way
Many of us talk to churches about how to rethink our approach coming out of the pandemic. This is a chance to do things differently.
Too Many Prophets, Not Enough Pastors
The message of Jesus is prophetic enough as it is. Ministers must obviously retell that message in a faithful manner. That act of proclamation is prophetic enough on its own. Given the difficulty with hearing who Jesus was and was really about, the story doesn’t need much additional help beyond that.
Looking at You, Senior Ministers
Create a space where people are engaged in a conversation that undoubtedly needs to happen and likely is overdue.
Praying Without Ceasing
Where does prayer fit in? Is it simply the customary thing we do at the beginning or end of a meeting? Or is prayer something more?