Journey Pastoral Coaching

Surprise Sabbatical: Reflections on a Season of Extended Transition    Preparing for change is a bit like trying to predict the future, and we humans are mediocre forecasters on our best day. Just ask your lo […]

Red Pillow Brigade Armed and Ready Not long ago, I wrote here about a heart “event” I underwent three years ago. In that piece, I used that experience […]

The Bruised Pastor – Part Two It’s been 13 years since that night I sat with my back to the elm tree. At times it’s hard to imagine that many years have passed; and yet, I […]

Skydiving with Jesus Lessons from a Young Church Planter By Josiah SmithOriginally published October 2019 in Evangel Magazine Free falling at over 120 […]

Healthy for the Long Haul “How is swimming in the ocean different than swimming in a pool?” It was my kids’ first time ever seeing the ocean. As I stared at the imme […]

A Tale of Two Pastors As I have written before, during my high school and college years, I was blessed to have three true pastors, three shepherds in heart and […]

Rediscovering Jesus’ Recipe for Discipleship Let’s be clear: I am not a baker.  However, my wife is a phenomenal cook AND baker. One thing I’ve learned about baking is that ingr […]

Pastoring Like Jesus Less “-ing” & more “pastor-” Three years ago, I had a heart “event,” one that required a 5-day stay in the hospital. Over those fiv […]

The Bruised Pastor He who is the Lord of life… came to bind up, not to break; to heal, not to destroy. (Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed) I sat alone w […]

I Found God in a Coffee Shop in Athens “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46.10. As Mis […]

Fighting Fear Joshua was terrified. No, the Bible doesn’t expressly state this. However, the phrase “be strong and courageous” is used four times […]

The Hidden Treasures of Pastoral Coaching Introduction “One of the common denominators apparent among those who lived well, led well, and finished well, was that they had p […]

Preach Like a Model More pastors should preach like a supermodel. I know that sounds like a provocative statement, but let me explain. I do not mean that […]

Learning From God’s Surprises During our family’s two decades as missionaries to Europe, we lived for a time in Tours, France, deep in the heart of the beautiful Loire V […]

"Go and Make Disciples…" Matthew 28:16-20 “16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.17 When they saw him, they […]

Shepherding in Zone 2 Almost five years ago, I began cycling again. Like most people, I rode a bike as a child, but this was something different altogether. […]

9 Trends Good and Bad in the Church – Part Two Two weeks ago, in Part One of this two-part look at church trends to anticipate in 2026, I presented nine negative trends of the year to […]

9 Trends Good and Bad in the Church – Part One Born in the late ‘50s, I’ve seen my share of trends. Cars, clothes, and cultural icons, I’ve seen them all. And having lived in the Frenc […]

Opportunities Dawning In The New Year We recently asked a group of young ministers to share the opportunities they see for ministers and the Church of Jesus Christ in […]