4 BEHAVIORS OF HEALTHY PASTORS
The word “health” gets tossed around a lot regarding pastors. The question is: what does health look like for a pastor? I reached out to a few good friends and asked for their definition. Here are their responses: “The ability to breathe in and out. Many pastors only...
10 WARNING SIGNS OF DEPRESSION
Pastors suffer a rate of depression 4x that of the general population. For most, it sneaks up and surprises them. Emotional crisis often bubbles unnoticed under the surface until it blows up in your face. So today I’m following up my last two blogs, 7 Reasons Pastors...
5 THINGS I LEARNED AS A SUICIDAL PASTOR
It was the night of June 13, 1974. I was in a coffeehouse on Hamilton St. in Saginaw Michigan, with my best friend Kirk. He had roped me into attending a Christian concert. He talked about Jesus many times prior, so when he invited me to the concert, I knew what he...
7 REASONS PASTORS LEAVE THE MINISTRY
Two days ago I posted this on FB: “It should deeply trouble us that more than 50% of pastors leave the ministry within their first five years.” One of my pastor friends replied to the post: “What’s the top 5-8 reasons? What 1-2 insights (advice) would you give to...
3 DYNAMIC BENEFITS OF BEING OPPORTUNITY-FOCUSED
“The effective business focuses on opportunities rather than problems” ~ Peter Drucker. Great advice from a respected voice in the business world. Drucker’s words remind me of a guy I used to work with years ago. His previous employer would fly him around the globe to...
3 WAYS LEADERS CAN AN AVOID EMOTIONAL CRISIS
Credit cards operate on the following basic principle: Buy now—pay later. See a pair of shoes you like, but not enough cash on hand or in your debit account? No problem… charge it. A new set of golf clubs catches your eye, but not enough money in your wallet? No...
PASTORAL HEALTH & THE MIDDLE
Last week I blogged about 6 Reasons Pastors resist rest: https://convergecoach.com/6-reasons-pastors-resist-rest/ The post received an overwhelming response, with the vast majority of readers agreeing that pastors need to get better at regular rest. I wrote on the...
6 REASONS PASTORS RESIST REST
I am fed up. According to John Palmer of Emerge Ministries, we’re now losing 2000 pastors every month in the U.S. The main drivers are burnout, contention in the church, or moral failure. The rate of depression among ministers and their spouses is 4.5x higher than...
WORDS & MULLIGANS
I like to play golf. Don’t play it very well, but still enjoy smacking the ball around. Golfers like me use mulligans occasionally. A mulligan is a do-over: I hit a bad shot, and with permission from my fellow golfers, I pretend that shot never happened, and then I...
Sink-or-Swim Leadership
“Nearly every professional occupational field trains aspirants in every competency necessary to provide a baseline minimal standard of professionalism to his or her profession and clients. This cannot be said for pastors and ministry leadership. While pastors...
Father of the Groom
My firstborn son is getting married this week. I’m filled with emotions: happiness, joy, relief, and can I say this without being judged… pride? As the big day approaches, memories flood my mind: I remember Aaron staring at me with his big brown eyes moments after his...
Settling for Mediocre
Our church is undergoing a huge renovation project. Carpet, tile, woodwork, paint, signs, bathrooms, etc. While observing the transformation, it occurred to me: we pastors hire skilled people to lay carpet, hang drywall, plumb, and much more in our church. We engage...
Five Priorities of Every Pastor
I deeply respect what pastors do for a living. I appreciate the sacrifice, hard work, dedication, and effort they bring to the table every week. “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” 1 Timothy 3:1 (NIV)...
Getting Faked Out by Busy
“Don’t mistake movement for achievement. It’s easy to get faked out by being busy.” (Jim Rohn) For a good chunk of my work life, I allowed movement to fake me out. As a youth pastor at a large church, my schedule was routinely packed. One day I remember calling my...
The Chiropractic Church
I visit a chiropractor occasionally to get my spine readjusted. When the spine is aligned, everything else physically seems better, smoother, and more efficient. The more aligned I am in terms of my body, the healthier I feel. The word healthy gets tossed around a lot...
Living Outside of the Box
“God however you want to use me today, I’m open.” Ten words that can change your life. I breathed those ten words to God this past Sunday morning, in preparation for speaking at a Metro Detroit Church. Not only did those words change the course of my day… they changed...
Shooting Star Leaders
Shooting stars are so cool to watch. They produce a bright streak of light in the sky, caused by the entry of a small meteoroid into the Earth’s atmosphere. Imagine laying on a beach during the summer at night, looking up at the sea of stars, and then all of a sudden,...
Stupid Trumps Talent
I love football. This past weekend was a football-lover's dream—the 2016 NFL Draft. Laremy Tunsil, considered the most talented player in the draft, was the surefire #1 pick. Until a photo emerged of him wearing a gas mask attached to a bong. Tunsil tumbled all the...
Systems & A Leader’s Well-Being
Over breakfast with a pastor this week, the subject of pastoral/church health emerged. (I know… you’re shocked). My friend wondered out loud about the contribution that systems—or a lack thereof—make to the overall health of a leader. Systems is a cool word for...
Leaders & Personal Failure
Coming alongside leaders and joining them on their journey is one of the greatest privileges in life. The longer I work with leaders, the more I realize the majority of them struggle with one thing more than any other. And it’s not what you think. It’s not fame or...
Why Pastors Hide
When I was a kid, one of my favorite games was hide-and-seek. My siblings and I would take turns: One of us went upstairs and counted to twenty, while the rest hid downstairs under boxes, in the furnace room, or in the closet. I liked hiding more than seeking. The...
The Big D
Do you ever struggle with the Big D? The Bible is full of stories about men and women who battled periodically with it. The big D is not Montezuma's revenge. It is discouragement. When you read the Scriptures, you learn pretty quickly even when you have an awesome...
3 Tanks Every Leader Needs to Fill – Part 3
Today we welcome a fresh voice to the Converge Coaching blog… Dave Barringer. Dave is a great husband to his wife Anne, and a great dad to his children Cammy and Ethan. He is also a lead pastor, and a good friend. Hope you enjoy his contribution ~ John Physical...
3 Tanks Every Leader Needs to Fill – Part 2
Several years ago I drove an awesome red truck. The day I brought it home from the dealership, my wife’s first response was: “Oh, that’s a cute truck!” Not exactly the response I was looking for. Manly—yes. Awesome—certainly. Cute? Never! The truck had an RPM gauge...
3 Tanks Every Leader Needs to Fill – Part 1
“If I pay attention to the spiritual part of my life, the rest will be taken care of. Why would I need to focus any time or energy on my emotions?” This puzzling comment was directed to me after teaching a session on refueling emotionally. My response to this leader:...
Six Things I Learned on Vacation
Back in the 70’s, Cheech & Chong put together a shtick entitled: Sister Mary Elephant. The good sister was substitute teaching for Sister Rosetta Stone, and the class’s assignment that particular day… report on their summer vacation. The first young man (in a...
Leaders & EIQ
Do you work with a person who is an intellectual giant and an emotional runt all rolled into one? 20 years in the business world have taught me many lessons… one is IQ doesn’t guarantee emotional IQ (EIQ). Intellectual brilliance doesn’t ensure emotional smarts....
Taking a Flyer
Orville and Wilbur Wright, two American brothers, inventors, and aviation pioneers, are credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane. Skeptics were plentiful as the brothers pursued their dream of manned flight. But they didn’t allow...
Four Need-to-Knows About Forgiveness
In last week’s blog—Swallowing the Bitter Pill—I admitted my occasional struggle with bitterness. We explored the negative impact of grudge-holding on our spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. I introduced several forgiveness thought-starters for us to...
Swallowing the Bitter Pill
In 1989 Don Henley released a hit single entitled: The Heart of the Matter. Some insightful lyrics in this song are: "There are people in your life who've come and gone They let you down and hurt your pride Better put it all behind you; life goes on You keep carryin'...