The Journey Blog Archives

When I entered full-time ministry I wasn’t naïve. But I was idealistic. In our twenties, most ministers are. I believed in the goodness and sovereignty of God, the truth and promises of His Word, the salvation and power of the Gospel, the beauty of the church, the privilege of serving in ministry. I believed in these things. I believed in them then and I believe in them today, even more than I believed in them…

“You’re killing me, Smalls!” Everyone knows this wonderful quote from the classic movie, “The Sandlot.” Too often, I say this.  But not with a smile.  Let me explain. I'm sitting in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport waiting for my next flight. How many times in my life have I sat in these gate areas waiting for “the next flight?” As I stood in the aisle of the plane waiting to disembark from “the previous flight” earlier today,…

The Historic Opportunity In our rapidly changing world, the church faces many challenges external and internal.  These challenges affect doctrine, daily living and ministry. But seen through the eyes of faith, these same challenges offer the church unprecedented opportunities for internal renewal and a great external move to present Jesus Christ to our world and to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28.19-20). To make the most of these historic opportunities, the church needs innovative, bold, and…

It was 10 years ago, and this month, we launched the ministry of Journey Pastoral Coaching. From Day One, we have had one mission: helping young ministers build strong for a lifetime of healthy and effective ministry. Every day since, giving ourselves to this mission has been our happy privilege.  Journey is really all about stewarding the church’s most valuable earthly resource, its pastors, and seeing them serve from a place of soul health and…

TENTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION  I have a confession to make:  I am a pastoral coach.  And I love it.  Many in the church are unfamiliar with pastoral coaching, usually assuming it is what it isn’t. They’re always intrigued when I explain pastoral coaching and how we do it at Journey. I invite you to peruse our many articles here at journeypastoralcoaching.com, where you can learn more about pastoral coaching and how we do it here at…

Editor’s Note: Josiah Smith serves as Associate Lead Pastor at Northeast Christian Church in Tewksbury, Massachusetts and is an adjunct faculty member at Northpoint Bible College & Seminary. His book, Along the Way: A Beginner’s Guide to Journeying with Jesus in the Kingdom, and other resources are available at his website josiahsmithonline.com. Josiah has been a member of Journey since its inception and continues to champion the Journey values in the ministries he leads. WORLDVIEW…

October is Pastor appreciation month, when we make a special effort to thank our pastors for their ministry to us as undershepherds of Jesus Christ.  “Every Christian’s life is meant to be a parable of Jesus. However, pastors are particularly suited to this because so much of our lives are spent doing what Jesus did in His life. An adequate definition of pastoral ministry emphasizes following Jesus as the act of ministry and particularly following…

At Journey Pastoral Coaching, we practice Cross-Coaching, a sustainable coaching model based on the linking of two mentoring relationships: walking with a pastoral coach and a community of peers Our approach is based on the Cross of Jesus and its three components: I. The Vertical Post As the vertical post of the Cross of Jesus dug deep and reached up, the vertical post of Coaching is the minister’s walk with a pastoral coach. The pastoral coach is…

I recently met with a colleague, and our conversation covered the usuals: where we are now, what we are doing in ministry, and how it’s all going. He was intrigued to hear that I am a full-time pastoral coach and that I focus on Millennial ministers. The idea was completely foreign to him. “We didn’t need coaching when I began in ministry. What’s changed?” he asked me. To rephrase my friend’s challenge, he was saying,…

EDITOR'S NOTE: At Journey Pastoral Coaching, we are celebrating our 10th anniversary as a ministry dedicated full-time to helping young ministers build strong for a lifetime of healthy and effective ministry. It's hard to believe we've been devoting our days - and many evenings - to sharing the journeys of young ministers across America and overseas for a full decade. And it's still hard to believe we have this privilege. As a part of our…

Editor's Note: Journey Pastoral Coaching is celebrating its 10th year of helping young ministers build strong for a lifetime of healthy and effective ministry. We thank God for His faithfulness. We invite you or your church to partner with us prayerfully and financially as continue to pastor young pastors across the country and overseas. You can become a Journey Partner by clicking on the link at the end of this article. The mission of Journey Pastoral…

Journey Pastoral Coaching is celebrating its 10th year of helping young ministers build strong for a lifetime of healthy and effective ministry. We thank God for His faithfulness. These ten years have served to reinforce a principle on which we began: coaching (and ministry in general) is all about relationships. God is Trinity: Father, Son, and Spirit, each person of the Trinity in perfect relationship with each other. Because God is Trinity, He has formed…

“Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons” (Mark 3:13-15). Twenty-two years ago this summer, Jesus called me into the ministry. I was a PK (Pastor’s Kid), and my mom was my youth pastor. She took our youth group…