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, […]
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I feel like such a failure. Growing up, I became accustomed to objective standards of success defining whether or not I had succeeded. An A+ signifies a job well done. A winning record in my collegiate sport proves my hard work. Even in marriage, a “Great job!” from my husband means I am accomplishing my goal of loving him well. Until recently, I didn’t realize how much I had begun to rely on these exterior praises to determine whether I had accomplished a job well done.
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Pastors often face difficult situations. How they lead is important. There are four principles pastors should keep in mind to lead with care and integrity.
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Recently, I led a collegiate conference at a local church. Every time I speak to college students, I’m reminded of two things: (1) they bring enthusiasm and potential to a local church, and (2) many, if not most churches—unlike the church where I did the conference—do a poor job of reaching these students. In fact, many churches lose their high school graduates when they go to college and don’t regain them (if they do) until they get married and have children.
It’s been 20 years since my wife and I, and two couples from our mother church launched Love Fellowship Baptist Church in Romeoville, Illinois. As we recently celebrated the church’s anniversary, I’ve been thinking about the lessons I’ve learned simply from sticking around. Here are three.
The familiar words of Psalm 23 reveal important truths that can help us find comfort in fearful times. And to be sure, we’ve known fearful times recently. COVID-19, harsh reminders of racism, police brutality, protests turned to riots and looting, overt divisiveness in the nation’s political structures – all are suggestive of the valleys of life.
