He Just Disappeared: When Ministers Go Missing.
He disappeared. He just disappeared. For several months he and I had been walking together in a pastoral coaching relationship. Pastoral coaching is based and built on relationship and trust: when these two intangibles are present and active, tangible results are present and active - anything is possible. But when these two are not present and active, nothing is possible – close up shop, shutter the windows and lock the door, this coaching “relationship” is...
Failure to Thrive Syndrome: Young Ministers at Risk
THE FAILURE TO THRIVE In their book, “Among Friends,” James Hinkle and Tim Woodroof cite a 1945 study conducted by social scientist, René Spitz. The study tracked the development of 88 healthy children (1 to 2 ½ years of age) who had recently been separated from their families and institutionalized in a group home. When these children entered a group home, each child was in good physical health as compared to other children of the...
The Values of Pastoral Coaching
THE WHAT, THE WHY, AND THE HOW I am a pastoral coach. And I’m very thankful to be one. I often tell friends and colleagues that I have the greatest job in all the world: I am privileged to walk with quality Millennial ministers on a daily basis. Several years ago, God gave us the opportunity to launch Journey Pastoral Coaching, a ministry focused on Millennials. Our mission is to help build young ministers for...
Shared Journey: The Power of Peer Mentorship Part II
The life-giving benefits of dynamic peer mentorship for ministers are incredible. By divine design, they are equal to our inborn need for mentorship. This is especially true for young ministers. In his book, “Serious Times,” pastor and author James Emery White describes it this way: “One of the more unsettling revelations to most Christ followers, particularly in light of our fierce individualism, is how many of the marks of a Christian involve other people...
Shared Journey: The Power of Peer Mentorship Part I
At Journey Pastoral Coaching, we help young ministers build for a lifetime of healthy and effective ministry. We do so by focusing on the individual him or herself. The doing of ministry flows from the being of the minister, the two are inescapably one. What the minister gives of God to others flows from what he is experiencing in his own relationship with Jesus, from what He is receiving from God. Jesus spoke often of...
Guest Blog: Thoughts On Being Bi-Vocational
Editor's Note: Are you a bi-vocational minister? In his most recent letter to ministers, Assemblies of God General Superintendent George Wood said that 38% of AG ministers fit this description. A question: are you a BVM because you have no choice or because it is your choice? Journey Member, Pastor Chase Replogle of Ozark, MO writes a very encouraging piece on just this question. Enjoy. This summer will be our fifth anniversary of...
The Primary Tools of Pastoral Coaching
While pastoral coaching is first and foremost a relationship, it does make use of carefully selected tools, not tools that serve the convenience of the coach, but that serve the well being of the one being coached. While these tools are many and varied, there are three that set in first position on the coach’s tool belt. Before we look at those three tools, let us first examine why these tools are so important. In...
Journey’s Most Popular Blog Posts in 2016
In 2016, Journey published 32 blogs, one every two weeks of the year, plus a few extras thrown in for good measure. While most of our writing focused on the pastoral coaching issues, we also looked at the nature of God, the church, great books, and, this past summer, even our favorite European vacation spots (the result of our many years living and serving in ministry in Europe). Of our thirty-two, here’s the short list,...
My Christmas Wish List for Pastors
I am a pastoral coach: I have the joy of pastoring pastors every day. Millennial pastors primarily. Pastors across America and in foreign nations. Pastors of all kinds: lead pastors, church planters, staff pastors, special needs pastors, missionary pastors, and even a couple of pastors-of-pastors. I love what I am called to do with my life because I love pastors and, I love – and greatly respect – each and every one of the pastors...© [2015] — Journey Pastoral Coaching