Dec 7, 2017 | Calling, Fear, Leadership, Likeability, Ministry Leader, Missionary, Pastor, Pastor's Spouse, People-pleasing, Relationships, Uncategorized
Hi my name is John. I’m a recovering people-pleasing-aholic. My first twelve years of ministry had a significant undercurrent of people-pleasing attached to it. The subconscious desire for everyone to like me led to bad scheduling decisions, inner conflicts over how...
Nov 30, 2017 | Fear, Trust, Uncategorized
In 1986 Billy Joel wrote a hit single entitled: It’s a Matter of Trust. Here’s one of the lyrics: “Some love is just a lie of the heart. The cold remains of what began with a passionate start. But that can’t happen to us. Because it’s always been a matter of trust.”...
Oct 5, 2017 | Burnout, Calling, Career, Emotional Health, Fear, Leadership, Rest, Workaholism
The term workaholism was coined in 1971 by minister and psychologist Wayne Oates, who described workaholism as “the compulsion or the uncontrollable need to work incessantly.” For decades, the North American business culture has been marked by bleary-eyed workers who...
Jun 29, 2017 | Change, Depression, discouragement, Fear, friendship, Relationships, Stress
I feel discombobulated. In the past twelve months, three of my sons married the girl of their dreams. My fourth son graduated from Walsh College. Twelve months ago, Laura and I took on part-time responsibility for a new church plant, in addition to our full-time gig...
Jun 15, 2017 | Fear, Leadership, Ministry Leader, Missionary, Pastor, Work
Most kids battle childhood fears. Fear of the dark, the closet, strangers, loud noises at night, monsters and ghosts, etc. Growing up in Saginaw, our three-bedroom ranch had a menacing room in the basement we called: “The furnace room.” Back in those days furnaces...