CARPE DIEM!
The other day a man expressed to me that I must have my hands full as a District Superintendent. He had heard a couple of pastoral burnout and failure statistics that left him incredulous. He asked me if the stats were indeed true (sadly, they were) and then asked me what…
LIFE WITH GOD
G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and therefore left untried.” (What’s Wrong with the World). Really living your life with God can be costly. It goes against cultural norms. Matthew 10:34-39 says that it can become a sword that separates people…
IS FEAR HINDERING YOUR MINISTRY?
This may sound a little sick, but I’m glad some of the greatest leaders in the bible were fearful on occasion. One leader I’ve considered in particular is Joshua. Joshua evidently wasn’t just a little fearful – he was terrified. Not only did God tell him three times to be…
7 STEPS TO AVOID BURNOUT
What should a pastor do when feeling tired, burned out, under-appreciated or even under attack? 1. Don’t isolate yourself. Solitude is a spiritual discipline and is healthy. Isolation is not. Make friends with someone not associated with the church. Someone from another church, a friend from seminary days, or even…
A SPIRITUAL STEROID
At the top of my favorites list is Charles Spurgeon. I discovered him while in undergrad at Liberty University and have read his sermons, lectures and devotionals more than I have any other. Time and again, God has used that man’s words to lift my heart to worship. He’s done it again and…
INSPIRING YOUR CONGREGATION TO GIVE GENEROUSLY
Is there a shortage of resources to do God’s work? Or is there a shortage of vision for what God wants to do? Some of our congregations are struggling financially. They wonder if it is time to reduce staff or missionary personnel or if they should sell part of the…
WHEN ENVY IS GOOD
I’m sitting in a leadership conference that I needed far worse than I care to admit. I’ve had my heart stirred, my faith encouraged, my mind challenged and my calling clarified. In reference to the last part, my calling, it’s less about being a District Superintendent and more to do with…
PREACHING THAT MISSES THE POINT
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” But Dr. Abe Kuruvilla sure is trying. That’s how it felt for some of us last week as we gathered together in Princeton Junction at Windsor Chapel for our Preaching Refresher. 64 of our pastors and preachers-in-training signed up to be a…
Intentional Discipleship as a Way of Life
Like many pastors, or church leaders, I have this deep drive to make disciples. When I say disciples, I’m thinking beyond information alone. I’m thinking about transformation. The goal of disciple-making is helping people become like Jesus. Remember the words of Jesus regarding disciple making? Jesus didn’t say teach them everything I commanded,…
Fact or Fiction? Americans Pray Differently than People in Other Countries
When our African brothers and sisters met in the lower level of our church in New York, you could literally hear them praying through the floor. When our Arabic brothers and sisters gathered for weekly prayer and worship, they prayed with hands high and spiritual energy to match it. I’ve…
Trump is officially POTUS. Now what?
Guest post by Bill Riedel, Lead Pastor at Redemption Hill Church. I pastor a church in the heart of Washington, DC. We meet in a historic building that is about four blocks from the US Capitol, in the neighborhood called Capitol Hill. A lot of attention is focused on our…
Where is your church going?
The life cycle of any church is often pictured by a bell curve. As the church grows, the curve goes up. But at some point, without direct decisions being intentionally made to continue the upward direction that first birthed the church, a church will plateau, grow stagnant, and begin a slide to…
