The Magnetic Fellowship
“If only I could see lives changed!” So goes a common lament of pastors who are working hard, working prayerfully, but seeing no visible results. Their efforts go unrewarded; their churches attract few new comers. How can the situation be turned around? How can new people be reached? Other churches ...
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Secrets of Staying Power
When the going gets tough. Every minister faces moments when the pressures of the pastorate seem overwhelming. Discouragement sets in. Is it time to leave this church? Or ministry altogether? How do I keep going? A pastor wrote LEADERSHIP JOURNAL recently: “How do you deal with yourself, when you su...
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Being Holy, Being Human
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde had it easy … … compared to the challenge facing pastors every day. There’s often a terrible tension between God’s call to holiness and our frail humanity. The Scriptures clearly state God’s call, and the Christian leader wants to obey. Parishioners expect their ministers t...
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Making the Most of Mistakes
Everybody makes mistakes. Not everybody, unfortunately, recovers. Mistakes are inevitable, even for pastors. Wisdom and will can go awry, and ministry can crumple. But disruption doesn’t have to be the final word. For the Christian, gaffes, grief, and grace walk hand in hand. God is in restoration b...
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Weddings, Funerals, and Special Events
Mastering Ceremonies In today’s secular society, the only personal contact many people have with a pastor is some public occasion: a wedding, funeral, baby dedication or baptism, an awards ceremony. These settings, where clergy are front and center, offer unique opportunities to minister. The bubbli...
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When to Take a Risk
Making decisions without destruction Does leading a church set up an impossible choice between running an efficient, well-maintained program and being sensitive to the needs of suffering people? Can one leader do both? For many leaders, the answer is not clear. Especially in days when the conflictin...
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Preaching to Convince
How to be heard—and heeded. The apostle Paul spent his prison days in Rome preaching—trying “to convince them about Jesus.” The results: “Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe” (Acts 28:24). About par for the course. Any preacher often wonders, Am I getting across? I beli...
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Helping Those Who Don’t Want Help
Warm hearted but hard nosed. One of the modern myths is that ministers lead sheltered lives. A person who swears in the presence of a pastor will often stop and say, “Oh, excuse me, Reverend,” as if pastoral ears are unaccustomed to such indelicate terms. If anything, pastors are more acquainted wit...
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Music, Youth, and Education
A Guide for Non-Specialists No one can be an expert in every field, despite what church members—consciously or unconsciously—may expect. Yet pastors do need at least a working knowledge of several specialized ministry skills. Areas where the pastor is directly involved (preaching, counseling, perfor...
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Clergy Couples in Crisis
What God hath joined together, let not the pastorate put asunder. Holding a pastoral marriage together is like canoeing the Colorado River. In the midst of exquisite scenery come stretches of white water that challenge a couple’s tenacity, pitch them one way and then another, soak them to the skin. ...
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Liberating the Leader’s Prayer Life
All Christians need to pray. But the pressures of ministry can work against prayer. Busyness. Distractions. Inconsistency. All block the quiet time needed for prayer. Yet all are part of local church ministry. When administration, counseling, and even preaching responsibilities intrude on time with ...
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