NOTICE: Sometime in the early 21st Century, virtue was laid to rest in America. After a long and labored illness, and unable to sustain its fight for life, virtue succumbed to the cancer of evil. For decades, doctors had prescribed healthy diet and exercise, but its guardians, the American people, refused treatment, preferring instead that virtue […]
While attending university the first time, I worked as a customer service representative for one of the country’s best-known package delivery services. My duties included not only working with the public, but with fellow employees who loaded our center’s delivery trucks for the day’s deliveries. Even before dawn, it was a lively workplace. Several of […]
The third and final installment in our three-part look at Timeless Truths for 21st Century Ministers. I often tell young ministers that all ministers take their share of ‘hits” in ministry: from being disappointed by others to being fired; from not being taken care of by a church board to being abused by a church; from non-responsive church […]
This article is the second of a three-part series on essential truths for 21st Century ministers. You can read the first installment here. World events, church issues and the ministry itself tempt the minister to focus first on the ever urgent and always must-be-done now list. For others, attention and energy are spent one breath at a […]
When I entered full-time ministry forty years ago, 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. […]
Some silver lining on this dark cloud called COVID-19. A long-standing prayer of mine may be in the process of being answered: the return of Psalm 23 pastors to the church of Jesus. Call them “undershepherds” of the Great Good Shepherd of John 10. TECHNIQUE-BASED PASTORS: Members of Journey Pastoral Coaching know that I am no […]
QUESTION 3: Will this lead to more pastoral care among people who are suffering? In the business model church in the 20th-Century, shepherds morphed into CEOs, talking vision statements, 5-year plans, numbers, and programs. Pastors came to see their primary role as that of business leader and vision-caster. With the advent of the digital age, […]
INTRODUCTION TO THE SURVEY Recently we asked U40ministers to name the individuals who have been the most positive influencers in their life. We asked them two questions: 1. “Who has had the most positive influence on your life? (Excluding wife or husband). 2. “In one or two sentences, how did this person so positively influence you?” Journey […]
In 1729, while a student at Oxford University, the humble but history-making pastor and preacher, John Wesley, started a discipleship group with his brother Charles. (Note: Charles went on to become the prolific hymn writer in history, writing almost 9000 hymns. Among them are “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “And Can It Be,” “O for a […]
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 – it’s not just […]
© [2015] — Journey Pastoral Coaching