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...
Feb 18, 2021 | Abuse, Anxiety, Burnout, Depression, Difficult people, Emotional Health, Ministry Leader, Narcissism, Pastor, Relationships, Uncategorized
During the month of February, we’ve been writing a series of posts on getting/staying healthy mentally and emotionally. Today’s post is part three. Enjoy ~ John According to an article in Psychology Today, the average narcissism score among college...
Jan 16, 2020 | Difficult people, Family, Forgiveness, friendship, Leadership, Ministry Leader, Pastor, Relationships, Uncategorized
It was the 2nd evening of 2020, I was sitting with a bowl of popcorn on my lap, watching a football game, and enjoying life. A pretty uneventful night. Woke up on Day 3 of 2020 with tooth pain. I thought, “just tooth sensitivity, no big deal.” Day 4 of 2020, the pain...
Jan 2, 2020 | Burnout, Calling, Career, Depression, Difficult people, Emotional Health, Leadership, Likeability, Ministry Leader, Pastor, People-pleasing, Relationships, Uncategorized
Nothing good ever comes from a ministry devoted to pleasing people ~ Chuck Swindoll The fear of man is a snare ~ Book of Proverbs When I think about my first fifteen years of pastoral ministry, so much of it was tinged with a subconscious thirst for people to like me....
Jun 27, 2019 | Anger, Anxiety, Assertiveness, Depression, Difficult people, Forgiveness, Relationships
We live in an increasingly angry world. If you don’t believe me, drive during rush hour in any major city in the U.S. Or watch cable news for thirty minutes. You’ll be convinced. Anger is a human emotion common to all of us. It says: “You’ve taken something from me,...
