Ministry is rooted in relationships. Your best days serving God are directly impacted by the people you work with and for – not to mention the people under your own roof. That’s why in this first installment of “Ask a Senior Pastor” we’re addressing two common tensions within our closest connections.…
Ned Nederlander. Franck. Jiminy Glick. These popular fictional characters were given life through the creative mind and talent of Martin Short. And then there’s Ed Grimley… Martin Short’s first breakthrough character. You may not know the backstory of how this greasy-hair-cowlicked-vertically-in-the-air, teeth-baring hyperactive manchild came to be… let alone how it all relates to the nerves and presumptions we all wrestle with in struggling to say something profound. …
Job interviews are so stressful that they can cause pain. We think through every word, over-analyze the questions, and beg God to tip the scales for us. And I’m describing what employers like me, not just applicants like you, must endure… In almost 20 years as a pastor (and a veteran of youth ministry myself), I’ve interviewed a lot of potential youth pastors.…
I have one final thought for you. First, we asked the question: Should I stay or should I go? Next, we pondered a couple check marks that remind us what’s most important. In a moment, I’m going to post some wisdom from the trenches.…
My daughter, Kayla, is 19 and a sophomore in college. She has become a big fan of the writing and speaking ministry of Bill Hybels’ daughter, Shauna Niequist. So I really wasn’t surprised to see her mention and link to one of her recent blog posts.…
I’ve learned that the things that frustrate us the most as youth pastors/youth worker/volunteer are the things we can’t control in the first place. I believe that one of the top reasons we get frustrated is that we forget to remember the things that should keep us grounded in the mission of what we were called to do.…
A pastor was working on his weekly sermon one day while his son watched. “Dad,” the boy asked, “how do you know what to say every week?” “God tells me,” he answered, writing some more thoughts on his sketch pad. The boy watched for a few minutes more and asked, “Are you sure it’s God?”…
You know the temptation. It goes something like this: Plan for your program. High-five some kids as they come in. Say something profound in your message or class time. Talk up the next big event. Run the next event. Over-hype everything you did so your church is glad they hired you.…
