One thing we can miss in our Bibles is all the walking they did. Did you know that the word walking or walked is mentioned over 200 times in the Bible? Yes, I think that is a Biblical argument for us to walk more : -). It was at least a four-day journey for Jesus…
Four Things Pastors Dread Doing
Any job or responsibility has things we don’t like doing. Pastoring a church is no exception. As pastors, we believe we are called by God to equip His people for ministry. (By the way, one of my pet peeves is calling a pastor The Minister. The Bible teaches that we are ALL ministers. Right?) But…
How to Deal with Criticism
Here’s a newsflash…you cannot please everyone! Everyone gets criticized especially if you are a leader. Aristotle famously said, “There’s only one way to avoid criticism: Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” But our task is too great to waste our time doing, saying, and being nothing which leaves us with the job of dealing…
7 Things to Pray for Your Church
I don’t pray enough. One thing that helps me in my prayer time is having a guide for what I am to pray about. Here’s my list for us to pray for the local church. I hope it will prompt you to pray more for your church.
My Top Ten Apps
This week’s blog is on the light side. Most of us are using tablets and smartphones on a daily basis. In fact, they have become an integral part of our interaction with others. Some of you may not know what an “app” is. The dictionary defines it as “an application, especially as downloaded by a…
10 Things Pastors Hate to Admit Publicly
Linda and I have been in full time ministry for over 35 years. Often a pastor and his family feel the pressure to be “on top” of everything when we feel like we are at the bottom of things. It’s hard to admit that you don’t feel like preaching this Sunday or you are having…
Book Review: Didn’t See It Coming
by Nancy Austin I have always been a reader. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of cracking the spine on a new book. When I taught elementary school, I always spent the first week(s!) of summer vacation reading crime novels and mindless fiction. One summer we went to dinner with my husband’s boss, the dean,…
3 Reasons Your Pastor Should Take a Sabbatical
Many of you know that my wife and I are currently in Scotland. We are spending time with our family and our newest additions to the family—twins! I really enjoy being a grandpa! This morning I’m sitting at a Costa coffee shop thinking about how important it is for pastors to take extended time away…
A Rant About Women in Ministry
This is my second rant this month. A few weeks ago I blogged about ordination and education. Today, I’d like to talk about women in ministry. Currently, our Denomination ordains only men as elders. We tend to use the term elder and pastor interchangeably. We also “commission” men and women into specific areas of leadership…
36 Great Quotes from the Leadership Summit – 2018
This past week the Pacific Conference hosted the Global Leadership Summit via online streaming. We had a great time of learning and fellowship together. It may have been best roster of speakers ever! You can check out a highlight video (scroll down) on our website. Here are some great quotes from the event.
A Rant About Education, Ordination, and Ministry
I read that the average cost of a wedding in 2016 was over $35,000 dollars.[1] I would be all for spending that kind of money if there was a guarantee that the more you paid for a wedding, the better the marriage, but that just isn’t true. If there’s no correlation between wedding-spending and marriage-success,…
Really Caring for Others
Do you have a favorite Bible story? One of mine comes from the life of David and his care for a guy named Mephibosheth. (Who would name their baby that? And if you preach this story, you’re going to want to practice saying his name). Mephibosheth actually means “shame.” He had a tough life. When…
