Last week I wrote about “new pastor revivals,” those wonderful seasons of new enthusiasm and excitement that follow the installation of a new parson in an old parsonage. I mentioned that while it’s not usually a “revival” in the historic sense of a powerful movement of the Holy Spirit among a group of Christians, it’s […]
A Great Opportunity For Older Pastors
Many pastors in their fifties and sixties are facing a similar scenario: They sense that they are nearing the end of their current pastorates and they are highly uncertain regarding the future. They know that most congregations don’t want pastors who are over sixty, and, in fact, many don’t want pastors who are over fifty. […]
When Majoring On The Majors Becomes A Major Problem
I’m a big believer in majoring on the majors. For a local church, majoring on the majors means loving God and people and faithful obedience to the Bible while we’re pursuing our one God-given mission of making disciples. For a denomination, majoring on the majors probably means helping its churches to be what I just […]
Models of Board Member Ministry – Brian’s Notes
Two weeks ago, in a post called, Models of Board Member Ministry, I wrote about the endless variations in expectations and assumptions among incoming board (council, consistory, session, elders, deacons) members. Working through my post – as a group exercise – can be a helpful way to movefrom board confusion, disunity and dysfunction to clarity, […]
The Heart Of A Great Revitalizer
My post today is a book review, sort of, but please don’t change the channel too quickly. If you are part of a church which needs revitalization, this post will help you. Studying Brian Croft’s, Biblical Church Revitalization (Solutions For Dying And Divided Churches), will likely help you greatly. I’m going to give you some […]
The Pastor’s Joy Challenge – Part One: Why Your Joy Is So Important
The images are unforgettable: Let’s start with Karl Malden, playing the formidable Reverend Ford in the 1960 film, Pollyanna. As our 11-year old, innocent, orphaned, heroine1 cowers in terror in her pew, the Right Reverend begins his sermon by thundering that “DEATH COMES UNEXPECTEDLY!” As the story unfolds, the amazing Pollyanna manages to transform some […]
The Pastor’s Joy Challenge – Part Two: 14 Reasons Why Pastoral Joy Is A Challenge
I realize that folks who haven’t served as vocational pastors of churches might be surprised by the titles (and the contents) of these posts I’m writing. “Pastors having trouble with joy? Really? I thought they were the most joyful people on earth.” And maybe we should be. But – for the most part – we’re […]
The Pastor’s Joy Challenge – Part Three: The Place To Begin In The Pursuit Of Joy
Some of you know that I’m writing a series of posts on the pastor’s joy challenge. As surprising as it is to many good people, it’s actually very challenging for many solo or senior pastors to be consistently – or even mostly – joyful. You might call this a “dirty little secret” of pastoral life. […]
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