A WEDDING: WHAT AND WHY I recently had the honor of walking my daughter down the aisle in her wedding, and of officiating this most wonderful of life events. The couple and I worked together to write their ceremony from start to finish, and a beautifully meaningful ceremony it was, emphasizing the biblical and the […]
In our previous blog, we began looking at some of Satan’s favorite lies to young ministers – favorite because they’re effective. Again with the input of Millennial ministers we coach, we offer seven more lies. If people knew me, they wouldn’t accept me. “I’m irreparably damaged and the call of God isn’t on […]
In his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning writes, “Satan prompts us to give importance to what has no importance. He clothes trivia with glitter and seduces us away from what is real. He causes us to live in a world of delusion, unreality and shadows.” In other words, Satan lies. Always. To all of […]
We live in Central Florida. We’re still cleaning up and putting our lives back in order following the visit this past week of Hurricane Irma. You wouldn’t believe the things Irma damaged and destroyed. A hurricane has a way of reinforcing life’s important lessons, and believe me, she (in this case) can be a very […]
The English language is ever reinventing itself. Unlike French, a language that seeks to protect itself from change (and for good reason), English is a chameleon, ever changing to reflect its changing culture. Consider these words from the 1930s and 1940s, words once common in American life, but no longer even recognized: “zooty,” “spiffy,” “steppin’,” […]
Recently, I heard someone say that Christian leaders often “appear out of nowhere.” Like a magician waving a wand, repeating the magic word, “abracadabra,” and pulling rabbits out of a hat, God pulls Christian leaders out of the air, magically equips them, and then places them. The speaker’s point of reference was Joshua and his […]
Two Questions . . . Studies of the past all too reliably predict that many young ministers of the Gospel gave up this Tuesday, August 1, 2017: They walked away from the ministry. Many of them even walked away from the church itself. How many more will walk away Wednesday, August 2, 2017, and in […]
Over the past year, my email inbox has included far too many articles with headlines like these: Epidemic: Another Pastor Burned Out and Quit Last Sunday Pastoral Stress and Burnout Why Pastors Walk Away The Secret Pain of Pastors I could go on and on. We can debate the numbers, but it’s not the numbers […]
“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” II Timothy 2.2 Pastoring is passed down. From one life to another, pastoring is passed down. To be sure, pastoring is a calling. It is Jesus, the Head and Good Shepherd […]
I was privileged to formally study for the ministry in two schools: a Bible College and a seminary. Both of these schools gave me a quality education for life in ministry, specifically, pastoral ministry. Given the opportunity to go back and attend or not attend each one, I most certainly would choose to do so […]
© [2015] — Journey Pastoral Coaching