Extremists In the Church of Jesus Christ
“If we preach the whole counsel of God, we shall be accused of extremism, not only by the world but also by a professing Church that cannot endure sound doctrine.” Vance Havner Christian doctrine, the propositional teaching of Scripture, is under attack. Many in the Church today are teaching that doctrine is less rather than more important. "Yes," they say, "Doctrine has its place, but it's getting in the way of the work of the Church."...
A Plea to Hurting Pastors
“Many pastors confide to me that they are merely surviving. They feel incompetent to do what they are expected to do week after week. . . For many, the thought of thriving in ministry is a distant, unachievable dream. And yet, I know the Lord has called every pastor and ministry leader to experience the joy of thriving in ministry!” Jimmy Dodd, Survive or Thrive Our pastoral coaching ministry for young ministers receives inquiries every week: ...
With a World of Millions to Reach, Jesus Mentored Twelve.
There are those who regard mentoring as only personal or ministry development. Others see it as a hand-holding exercise. During His earthly ministry, Jesus was not of either camp. He saw mentorship as much more. Personal and ministry related? Of course. Developmental? Absolutely. But more importantly, He saw mentoring as global in its reach, eternal in its impact. The New Testament makes it clear in breath and blood that Jesus established mentorship as His primary...
9 Questions COVID-19 Hand Delivered to the CHURCH
NOTE: This article is a part of Journey’s Summer Sabbatical Series, a follower-favorite article from the past that we’re posting again. In this article, we present the results of a Journey survey of pastors in which we asked them about the fundamental or DNA-level challenges and changes that COVID has caused in the church. The Church of the New Testament has not changed, but the 21st-century American church is in the midst of great change...
Cross-Coaching: A Post, A Beam, A Nail.
NOTE: This article is a part of Journey's Summer Sabbatical Series, a follower-favorite article from the past that we're posting again. This is a particularly interesting read in that it explains Journey's unique approach to pastoral coaching: we model our method after the Cross of Jesus. Intrigued? Read on! “You will never maximize your potential in any area without coaching. It is impossible. You may be good. You may even be better than everyone else....
Guest Blog: Why You Need a Peer-Mentoring Relationship
Editor’s Note: The author of this article, Josh Havens, is co-founder and co-director of the online discipleship ministry, Daily Growth Discipleship, a ministry whose mission is perfectly described in its name. He serves at Global University, a worldwide distance learning pioneer, integrates education and service in 150 countries. He is also a member of Journey Pastoral Coaching and represents Journey to ministers and ministries across the country. I never thought I needed a deep and intimate relationship with other...
Cast Away In the Ministry?
NOTE: This is an edited version of an article first published March 15, 2019. It's a part of our Summer Sabbatical Series at journeypastoralcoaching.com. One of my favorite movies is the 2001 classic, “Cast Away,” starring Tom Hanks. Who wouldn’t love a movie where the best friend (or pastoral coach) is a volleyball named Wilson, right? Hanks plays Chuck Noland, a high-energy, driven, FedEx systems engineer who loves traveling the FedEx world and fixing it...
The Failure to Thrive Syndrome
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 same age. However, in a...
Sabbatical
TAKE MY OWN MEDICINE? NOTE: As we share below, Journey is on summer sabbatical until August 1. We will return at that time with fresh content. Until then, we will post a series of "Best Of" articles from our six plus years of writing. This post on sabbaticals will remain in this place throughout the summer. To access our "Best Of" posts, on the Journey home page, hover over "The Journey Blog," and then click...© [2015] — Journey Pastoral Coaching