Pastor, how do you stay strong for the long haul? These personal practices for pastors will help you thrive for a lifetime of ministry. Of all the factors that go into the making of a healthy church, the pastor’s personal health, growth and well-being are at the top. Healthy churches have healthy pastors and growing […]
Pastor's Personal Growth
How to Seek God’s Call to a New Ministry Position
Seek God’s Call to a New Ministry Position Pastor, are you in a place where you are hoping to make a move, preferably to a nicer, bigger, more comfortable or prestigious position? This afternoon I received an email from a young associate pastor of a nearby church. He wanted to pick my brain about […]
Why Ministry Hurts and What to Do About it
Sometimes ministry hurts. There’s grief and pain for church leaders. It’s like a violent storm that comes from every angle against us. Discouragement. Depression. Quitting. Being fired. Wanting to turn your back on church and ministry. Why is the downside of being in ministry so huge? And why does it hit all of us? Prayerfully read on, church […]
7 Good Questions that will Help you Handle Criticism
Handle criticism, don’t let it defeat you. What leaders do matters to the people who follow them. When a pastor preaches a poor sermon, makes a bad decision, or does something embarrassing, people are affected by it. Often these people will express their feelings to your face, which can be helpful. Some of the best […]
How to Plan the Perfect Pastor’s Sabbatical
Of all the questions in the universe, one that came to the top at the Engage 24 Q&A Panel last week was, “how can I get my church to let me take a sabbatical?” Pastors want to know: can I catch a break? A few years ago, in a roundtable gathering with large church pastors, the […]
How to Lead when you’re Hurting at Christmas
December 2017 Last summer my dad passed into eternity. Then three months later, Lori’s mom crossed into heaven, too. Last week, just six weeks later, we evacuated from our neighborhood as the Lilac Fire burned toward our church, our home, and the homes of many families in our church. Here’s what I’m wondering: how does […]
51 Powerful Bible Verses for a Leader’s Thankful Heart
Are you feeling thankful today? Would you like to be overflowing with thanksgiving a few minutes from now? It’s normal for us as Christian leaders to be thankful in our theology, but to overlook expressing it in our lives. When you think about it, you’re thankful. But how often does thankfulness cross your mind and […]
8 Easy Ways to be a Resilient Pastor
Pastors are resilient…unless, not so much. When I get together with pastor friends we have similar stories. Along with the stories of God’s work and provision, we share challenges, discouragements, and burdens. Maybe you’re like me and my friends. We persevere, but there are struggles. Here’s the good news about your pastoral resilience. You’re in a profession that helps […]
A Pastor’s Guide to an Easy, Successful Israel Tour
You can Lead a Tour to Israel Have you ever thought about leading a tour from your church to the Holy Lands? But you didn’t pursue it because you didn’t know how to make it happen? It’s another pastor-skill that you just don’t learn in seminary. I’m wrapping up my third tour this week and thought […]
How to Recover From the Post Easter Blues
Every pastor I know gets a little depressed (or a lot depressed) on the days following Easter. It’s natural. Easter is our Super Bowl. We pour our lives into preaching, and meeting, and caring for people, surviving the week on less sleep and more adrenaline than we should. Easter comes and attendance peaks. Then it falls again. […]