“Make your peace with being honest in ministry today. Don’t wait until you’re older or find the ‘perfect’ church. If you aren’t honest today, you may never make it that far.” I was a youth minister when my pastor and…
Clergy mental health is a choice between life and death
I took a leave of absence in 2020, and it saved my life. I serve as pastor of a church in Oklahoma, and it’s been a heck of a year. Even before the pandemic, we navigated painful staff changes and…
Racists don’t get to define racism
Last week in Norman, Okla., where I serve as a pastor, our high school girls basketball team was playing in the state championship tournament. During the National Anthem, the team took a knee. The announcer, believing his microphone was turned…
Someone I know was killed by the police
Someone I know was killed by the police. When a friend from college texted asking if I saw that a former football player at our alma mater had been killed, my stomach dropped. Could it be someone I knew? I…
Too many pastors are falling on their own swords
“Well, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve been imagining killing myself,” the pastor said. I was on a Zoom call recently with 10 pastors across three denominations, when one of the participants shared a struggle with…
The best day of our lives suddenly became the worst: lessons about ministering to people in crisis
After four years of battling infertility and other challenges, our long-awaited baby arrived healthy and whole. Then the nightmare began, and the caregiver became the care receiver. Here are some things I learned about caring for people in the worst moments of their lives.
Combating intolerance (and other sins) with a little ‘shadow work’
“If they [Muslims] can’t dress like we do, then they should just go back to their own country,” spewed the church member. As that morning’s guest preacher, I watched with interest as the church dynamics played out in this small…
When ‘gospel’ is no gospel at all
“We’re blessed with so much in America.” If you’ve traveled abroad, gone on a mission trip or spoken with someone who has, at some point you’ve probably said or heard that phrase. I’ve heard it, because I’ve said it as…