As much as we’d love to think so, longevity in ministry doesn’t just happen. I’m not sure anyone really sets out to quit when they begin youth ministry, but the list of those who exit somewhere along the way is long and painful. The challenges and difficulties that await us when we surrender to ministry are greater than we could imagine. Often, overcoming these challenges comes down to having the right mindset and perspective.
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Tensions can get high on a pastoral staff. Chuck Lawless offers the most common reasons he's seen through years of consultation.
We are living in a day when societal acceptance of gambling is beyond anything we would have thought possible in our times. I have seen statistics that reveal there are as many as 48 states in the U.S. that have some form of legalized gambling.
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I am living in my favorite season of life so far. Last November I turned 60 years old and found myself pleasantly surprised by that reality.
I am living in my favorite season of life so far. Last November I turned 60 years old and found myself pleasantly surprised by that reality.
In the aftermath of the recent tornadoes in the commonwealth, there was a compassionate and organized response from Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief.
What is an emotional affair and why must pastors, elders and ministry leaders fight against succumbing to this temptation? According to one online source, “An emotional affair is a non-sexual relationship involving a similar level of emotional intimacy and bonding as a romantic relationship.” The writer adds that emotional affairs often begin as a friendship and then move to something more involved.
I had an interesting experience a few days ago while eating at a Mexican restaurant with a KBC pastor in one of our Kentucky counties.
It is not unusual for young men who serve on church staffs to reach a point in ministry and leadership development where they start thinking about becoming senior pastor of a church.
Leadership growth and development happens when we evaluate our experiences with thought-provoking questions. Here are five questions that may prove helpful as you evaluate your ministry leadership from this past year.
“A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” That comment by Ruth Bell Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, is a reminder that people can disagree, and that conflict is inevitable in most human relationships.
Many of us in ministry leadership are grieved by recent revelations of high-profile pastors who were discovered to have been unfaithful in their marriage. These discoveries continue to shock us and serve as a reminder that we are all in a battle against the flesh and the devil.
I remember one Sunday leaving a church service and asking a close friend for feedback on my preaching. The friend said, “Maybe you’re called to teach instead of preach.”
What drives you to your knees in prayer? A pastor friend said, as I was listening to him describe a remarkably difficult time in his pastorate, that this event was certainly causing him to pray, and in his words, “anything that makes you pray is a good thing.”
