How to pray when you don’t feel like praying
Are you motivated to pray? The word “motivation” doesn’t appear in older dictionaries since it wasn’t coined until the mid-19th century and didn’t come into common use until the 20th century.
Are you motivated to pray? The word “motivation” doesn’t appear in older dictionaries since it wasn’t coined until the mid-19th century and didn’t come into common use until the 20th century.
Adobe Stock Photo. Do not publish.
I wonder what most pastors would answer if you asked them this question: “What’s the toughest ministry lesson you’ve had to learn?”
As leaders we know there are many areas where we need to grow in our walk with Christ. Sometimes, as we multiply similar needs across a congregation, it can be hard to know where to start. What area of discipleship should we emphasize? Where can teaching, exhortation, and a congregational focus make the most difference?
Adobe Stock Photo. Do not publish.
Recently, I had the privilege of speaking at a women’s conference where the diversity of attendees spanned generations. Across the table, I found myself in conversation with two women at different life stages: one fresh out of college and single, the other recently widowed. Despite their disparate circumstances, they shared a common struggle—navigating the challenges of finding an apartment, living alone, and facing the uncertainties of the future.
Pastors manage churches as much, if not more, than leading them. Making disciples requires pastors to be involved in the day-to-day operations of a church.
Preaching is a grind I welcome every week. Expositing God’s Word is one of the toughest but most rewarding aspects of being a pastor. You can’t treat preaching like a sprint, rushing to get a response on Sundays. It’s more like a marathon, a paced lope in which long strides are made over time.
In a lot of churches, deacons get a bad rap. If they do too much, people believe they’re trying to take over the church. If they do too little, then people call them lazy.
“It took me too long, but I finally decided to get the help I needed.” My first coaching call with this pastor was like so many others. This pastor shouldered the leadership burden without much support for years. Then tensions built in his church, and he could not take the added pressure. Frankly, no one should carry this weight alone.
Pastors are a notorious bunch when it comes to work. Church members have high expectations. The hours are long. Some weeks, you have no option but to grind it out for 70 hours. An occasional all-nighter is to be expected. But these situations should be rare, not the norm. Why do too few pastors strike a balance?
People often apologize to me for something that happened in a church service. I’ve heard lots of great apologies.
The holiday season is demanding. Pastors and church leaders must move from one event to the next in rapid-fire succession. The whirlwind lasts from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day. Most pastors get a small break between Christmas and the New Year, and then it’s time to launch again. Ministry is a grind. The deadlines never end, […]
Most of us have entered the twilight zone of worship announcements at some point. A person approaches you with awkward determination three minutes before the start of a worship service. A piece of paper unfolds multiple times.
My wife recently found a box of old church bulletins with notes from my previous sermons. She is a prodigious note-taker. These old bulletins contained thousands of sermon points. How many of them did she remember? I didn’t ask.
Gossip is a destructive force in the church. Once the rumors of gossip spread, it’s hard to correct if they are false. Even if partially true, gossip is always wrong because what is shared is inappropriate and hurtful.