Those of you who are devoted to the current disciple-making movement probably find my title to be absurd, and I suppose it is. Just to clarify: The disciple-making movement says simply that we American evangelicals need to “fix” our discipleship paradigm, our idea of what a mature or maturing devoted follower of Jesus looks like. […]
Thirteen Challenges For The Retiring Pastor
“I feel like a man without a country” – Recently retired pastor I’ve been writing about the challenges faced by soon-to-retire or newly retired pastors. Here’s a slightly amended paragraph from my posts: Lame Ducks Can Still Fly: Twelve Projects Retiring Pastors Can Work On and Twenty Ways To Redeem Your Pastoral Retirement. No other […]
A Special Offer For Hungry Pastors
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it” Psalm 81:10 Sorry pastor, I’m not offering restaurant gift cards today, but I want to talk to you about your hunger for a revitalized church and I do […]
Spatial Disorientation – Pastor: Do You Know The Condition Of Your Pastorate?
My wife and I have been learning about spatial disorientation by listening to airline disaster podcasts. The phenomenon occurs when pilots, unable to see the ground because of darkness or bad weather (pilots call it “goo”), become unable to determine their aircraft’s true position relative to the ground. Their senses tell them, for instance, that […]
A Simple Secret For Better Evangelism
This will probably be the simplest post I’ve written for a long time. Not “simplistic” I hope, but simple, and maybe even short. I was talking to a pastor a few weeks ago about his excellent church. And it really is. It’s united, growing spiritually, growing by way of new converts to Christ and joyful. […]
15 Ways To Solve Our Pastor Shortage, Part One
The pastor shortage has become a serious matter in the evangelical world. A friend just told me that in his region of his evangelical (“Bible-believing”) denomination they will be losing one third of their pastors within the next few months. One third! My own thoughts about how we got to this point will become apparent […]
Twenty Ways (15 wasn’t enough) To Solve Our Pastor Shortage, Conclusion
Over the past three weeks I’ve shared fourteen ways in which we might move towards solving our pastor shortage in the evangelical world. While I’ve done some bemoaning of our situation, your responses have been encouraging. I have not felt like a “voice crying in the wilderness.” I’ve found that many of you share my […]
We All Need A Monitoring Pilot
I’ve mentioned before that my wife and I are fans of airline disaster podcasts, particularly, the Mentour Pilot, Petter Hornfeldt. Petter’s great stories have frequently highlighted the importance of the monitoring pilot. Before they get into the cockpit, the commercial airliner’s captain and co-captain make a decision regarding which one of them, on this particular […]
Ending Pastor Abuse
Pastor abuse is a serious problem, but there’s nothing new about it. Old Testament prophets – spokespersons for God – and even Old Testament-era Jewish kings, who were shepherds (“pastors,” in Latin) of God’s people, endured harsh treatment at the hands of those who should have respected them. Mocked, thrown in pits, beaten, stoned and […]
Help For Frustrated (or angry) Pastors
If you’re not a pastor, you may have been surprised by my title. “What? Pastors, frustrated or angry? He must mean, ‘frustrated by their golf games, their cars, their lawns or even their kids’ but surely he can’t mean ‘frustrated by their churches or their ministries!’” But frustrated by their churches or ministries is exactly […]
Six Ways Your Vision Can Be Dangerous
Donna and I just watched a documentary film called Titan, about the ill-fated deep-sea submarine of that name in which five people lost their lives on June 18, 2023. The key figure in the story was visionary entrepreneur Stoddard Rush. As with so many great dreamers before him, Rush was brilliant, charming, passionate, fiercely devoted […]
The Seventh Danger: Vision Frustration
It’s an awful picture isn’t it? The ancient, venerable leader Moses, who had been through so much and was so special to God and so needed by mankind, loses his temper and strikes the rock, a picture of Jesus Christ, with his precious shepherd’s rod, a symbol of both his God-given authority and his God-given […]
Ten Temptations Of The Departing Pastor
I wish this post was a short one: “Two Temptations Of The Departing Pastor,” or something like that. In truth, departing pastors have all sorts of temptations. All sorts. I’m going to dive right into my subject, and you’ll see what I mean. These are not exclusive to pastors who are leaving in disgrace or […]
The Last Temptation Of “Pastor Last”
Years ago, LEADERSHIP Magazine published a cartoon which depicted a grumpy looking pastor asking a colleague, “Ever have one of those days when you just HAVE TO rebuke someone?” Many pastors experience “one of those days” just after they’ve announced their resignation. They feel like they have to rebuke their church’s board, staff or maybe […]
Pastors Who Don’t Deserve Churches
Last week I wrote about churches that don’t deserve to have pastors. I’m disheartened that such churches exist, and your responses lead me to think that there are more of these congregations out there than I realized. Sadly, there’s also such a thing as the veteran pastor – or the would-be pastor – who doesn’t […]
“Our pastor’s gone; we got our church back!”
Television’s Art Linkletter used to say that “kids say the darndest things.” He was right of course, but the same could be said of church members who are being interviewed by interim pastors, denominational leaders or consultants: “Church members say the darndest things!” The first time I heard this phrase I was gob smacked. I […]
Give Your Pastor The Gift Of Reasonable Expectations
Pastor Appreciation Month is already behind us, but the “holiday season” is coming on fast. Many church members gave their pastors a gift in October, even if it was just their well-wishes. Others are thinking about what they might give their pastor for Christmas. If that’s you, this post is for you. If you’re a […]
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