Sep 20, 2022 | Difficult people, Leadership, Ministry Leader, Pastor, Podcast
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. Both Jim and I could recite multiple instances during our tenures as lead pastors where the vocal minority...
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...
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,...
Jan 31, 2019 | Anger, Difficult people, Ministry Leader, Pastor, People-pleasing, Uncategorized
Have you ever been in a meeting where people were talking (and maybe even shouting), but no one was communicating? I recently sat through one of those . . . it was ninety minutes of sheer torture. Multiple people talking over each other, not listening to each other,...