May 28, 2020 | Abuse, Anger, Anxiety, Assertiveness, Burnout, Depression, Emotional Health, Leadership, Ministry Leader, Missionary, Pastor, Relationships, Suicide, Uncategorized
In last week’s post we talked about the sudden passing of pastor Darrin Patrick, and used it as a launching point for a discussion regarding the problem of suicide in the United States. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in...
Apr 2, 2020 | Anxiety, discouragement, Doubt, Fear, friendship, Leadership, Loneliness, Ministry Leader, Pastor, Peace, Relationships, Stress, Trust, Uncategorized
We are now almost two months into a season we’ve never seen in our lifetimes – the impact, fallout, and stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve waited to say anything on this platform about the subject because sometimes I think in the heat of the moment, we rush to put...
Mar 12, 2020 | Emotional Health, friendship, Ministry Leader, Missionary, Pastor, Relationships
“You can never have any close friends in the church you lead!” Such was the declaration I heard as a young pastor from many seasoned pastors. I was a greenhorn, and didn’t have enough confidence to push back on their strong position. Coming out of college, where...
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....
Nov 7, 2019 | Calling, Career, Ministry Leader, Pastor, Relationships, Self-Awareness
Jaime Hlavin is back today with an insightful post on why getting to know yourself matters so much. I know you’ll enjoy it ~ John According to a quick and unofficial Google search, there are approximately 2,500 different “tools” available to determine...
