Aug 11, 2022 | Criticism, Difficult people, discouragement, Leadership, Ministry Leader, Pastor
Criticism hurts. No matter how great a leader you are, there will always be a few parishioners who don’t like you and feel it’s their calling to criticize you. This group of people who think you suck can—although they are in the minority—tend to be the most vocal...
Feb 17, 2022 | Abuse, Anxiety, Depression, Difficult people, Emotional Health, Leadership, Ministry Leader, Narcissism, Pastor, Uncategorized
Today’s post is a continuation of our February blog series on mental and emotional health. In it I tackle a subject most of us would rather avoid—protecting ourselves from abuse. In 2 Timothy 4:14-15 the Apostle Paul wrote to his young apprentice, Timothy, “Alexander...
Dec 2, 2021 | Burnout, Calling, Difficult people, discouragement, Leadership, Longevity, Ministry Leader, Pastor, Quitting
Pastors are on the move. In its most recent study, Barna discovered 38% of pastors have seriously considered quitting full-time ministry this year. This percentage is up 9 full points (from 29%) since Barna asked church leaders this same question at the beginning of...
Nov 11, 2021 | Difficult people, Disappointment, Leadership, Ministry Leader, Pastor, People Leaving, Relationships
When people leave the church you pastor, God often mourns—and so should you—at least for a while. As a young pastor, the worst days in my life were when people I cared about decided to leave. But now I understand those didn’t have to be my worst days. When people...
Oct 28, 2021 | Anger, Bitterness, Difficult people, Emotional Health, Forgiveness, Pastor, Relationships
Relationships can be messy, can’t they? In Acts 13:13 we read the following: “From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John (Mark) left them to return to Jerusalem.” We learn later on in Acts this departure caused Paul a lot of...
May 4, 2021 | Criticism, Difficult people, discouragement, Leadership, Longevity, Pastor
By now, I think most of us thought we would be on the other side of the pandemic. Back to growing, visioning, releasing, discipling, etc. Over the past few weeks, I’ve observed fresh weariness among leaders. A recurring sentiment has been, “when is this going to...
