When my favorite High School teacher read Dr. Seuss’ (1990) “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” on my last day of High School I didn’t get it. Since then, it’s become one of my favorite books to explain the seasons of life common to humanity. There are ups and downs, ups that turn into downs, and […]
Pastoral coaching-mentorship is a biblical leader development approach, not a leadership development approach: our focus is not on the doing of leadership, but the being of the leader. It is modeled by Jesus as He walks with The Twelve, continued by The Twelve as they walked with John Mark, Barnabas, and others. It is the approach Barnabas used […]
In “Code Blue In the Church Part One,” I addressed five Code Blue facts about the health of the American Church today (CLICK TO READ PART ONE) 1. Americans are not only skipping church services; they are skipping out of the church. A 2023 study by George Barna and the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian […]
A church leader, a great friend, told me today of churches closing in his city. Sadness and lament poured from his heart. He is grieving for the church in his area, aching for his fellow believers and church leaders. Key phrases he shared with me: “The apostasy grows day by day.” “What we see around […]
I am a collector of quotes. As I read a book, I note significant passages and add them to my collection. At present, I have approximately 20,000 quotes on my computer (yes, backed up!), the fruit of more than forty years of reading, all filed by subject. One of the largest sets of quotes in […]
In my previous article, I addressed the essential elements needed for living a healthy life in vocational ministry today. As a pastoral coach who focuses exclusively on young ministers, the ten essentials I share—five in this article and the five presented in my previous article—require the careful attention of young ministers in America right now, […]
In my previous article, I presented the results of Journey’s conversations with small groups of young ministers across America on the good and the bad of life in vocational ministry. I also shared what they deem to be the essential elements needed for living a healthy life in vocational ministry. Their responses reveal great insights […]
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE HEALTHY OF LIFE IN VOCATIONAL MINISTRY “The life of the minister is the life of his ministry.” Albert Martin We recently sat down with small groups of young ministers from across America and talked life in vocational ministry. Our discussion focused on three subjects: 1. What are the best […]
Are you hearing what I’m hearing? America is on the verge of a great revival! All the signs indicate we are on the precipice of a history-making revival of never-before-seen proportions! “Revive your church, oh Lord, beginning with me.” Augustine A REVIVAL STORY. OR IS IT? When God called our family to serve as missionaries […]
I read the news today; oh boy About another church that failed the grade. And yes, the news was rather sad I found no reason there to laugh. My home church closed. Even as I type these words, I can’t believe it. And yet, I know it’s true. After 48 years of ministry, the church […]
© [2015] — Journey Pastoral Coaching