Jan 30, 2020 | Calling, Career, Focus, Leadership, Ministry Leader, Missionary, Pastor, People-pleasing, Stress, Work
It was a sunny summer morning, circa June 2019. At the gym, earbuds plugged in, listening to a podcast, when all of a sudden, my day was rocked by the words of the person being interviewed on the pod: “Leaders need to ask themselves . . . am I only doing what only I...
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....
Apr 4, 2019 | Calling, Difficult people, Emotional Health, Leadership, Ministry Leader, Missionary, Pastor, People-pleasing, Relationships, Uncategorized
If you want to lead well for a long time—you have to figure out how to handle difficult conversations. In last week’s post, Leadership & Difficult People we stated that longevity in ministry requires pastors to occasionally make tough people-decisions, and from...
Mar 21, 2019 | Anxiety, Burnout, Calling, Career, Depression, Emotional Health, Leadership, Ministry Leader, Missionary, Pastor, Productivity, Work
Do you ever struggle saying with “no”? In his 2014 book—The Power of No—James Altucher writes: “How many times have you had to say ‘no’ only to have it cause anguish, arguments, and anxiety? Even the hours, days, and months before you say no you are filled with...
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,...