Category: Pastor
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The Sticky Soul: Reason Why Pastors Need Celebration and Encouragement
Coming of a tiresome Christmas season and into our annual vision series (#MYCHURCH), I cannot say I was completely prepared for what I would encounter. Within the previous month, the Lord put a few “Pauls” (older, wiser, experienced pastors) in my pathway that transformed January’s series into something special. It created an excitement in me…
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Pastors and Pastor’s Wives: 5 Reason to Change Armour
One of the biggest challenges I’ve found in pastoral ministry, has been the “hand-me-downs.” These, quite simply, are church and pastoral expectations formed by previous experiences, both good and bad, that get handed down or passed onto a new pastor whether he/she like it or not. These ideas are filled with comparisons and assumption, hope…
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Pastoral Team Chemistry: 10 Elements that have shaped our pastoral staff.
I randomly blog to pastors. There’s usually no agenda driving it but a passion to do what so many pastors have done for me: give me help and encouragement by sharing what they’re doing. Over the past 6-7 months, several pastors have requested I blog on a specific subject. Last week, it came up again. “What does…
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Confronting the Diva Pastor: 6 Thoughts for Pastors
A few weeks ago, I began this blog while sitting on a plane trying to make sense of something burning upon my heart. This blog is that attempt to explain a burden that I cannot let go of. After the 18 years of pastoral ministry, one thought continues to repeating come to my mind: This isn’t about…
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Pastors and Conflict: 8 Purposeful Actions to Help Heal Conflict
Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. I sat in my office very early Monday and journaled about conflict. As a pastor, I recognize that conflict is inevitable. Why? I’m human and I deal with humans. I’m imperfect. I pastor an imperfect congregation. The more I understand that, the…
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Pastor Burnout Prevention: 6 Ideas to help you find rest.
(Please note: What you are about to read is more than a pastoral issue. It plagues far too many homes so please read in the context of your vocation.) Something has been burning in my heart a lot lately. Between conversations with pastors and parishioners, and speaking on this subject yesterday at Northpoint Bible College, I felt…
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How to pray for your pastor: 5 lessons my intercessor team taught me
One of the greatest decisions I ever made as a new Lead Pastor was for an intercessory team. I saw it as a priority my mentor (props to Joel Stocker) and it was one of the first things Anne said we needed to establish when we got to Kalamazoo. Very early in our tenor here, I…
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Social-Media Church: 8 Reasons why you should encourage your congregation to post while you preach.
I’m a proponent of social-media. Like it or not, it’s here and we have an opportunity to utilize it as an amazing tool for our preaching. The words “Hear, O Israel” in Deuteronomy 6:4 tells us that God wanted his instructions to have the maximum reach. He didn’t want anyone to miss out on what he…
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Confessions of an Insecure Pastor Part 2: 10 Things that definitely are NOT a waste of time for pastors
I’ll begin this post like my last in this series: My name is Dave. And I am an insecure pastor. Insecurity, defined, is the lack of confidence in oneself; the state of being open to danger. For generations, pastors have been fearful to admit this struggle, let alone, talk about it openly. I’ve been told it will…
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Confessions of an insecure pastor: 4 reasons why I shouldn’t preach all the time.
My name is Dave. And I am an insecure pastor. It’s the truth about many people, let alone pastors. Defined, insecurity is the lack of confidence in oneself. Also, it’s the state of being open to danger. Put that together in a pastor’s life, you’ve got someone who struggles with their own strengths and weaknesses…
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