(This blog describes a problem I have never heard named. Unfortunately, I have not proposed a solution. I hope I am starting a helpful conversation, since I don’t have a Final Answer. What are your ideas?) Most churches are small….
No wiggle room on a church staff
By Marion Aldridge Most churches are small. Compared to the government’s various definitions of “small business,” which can be 50-500 employees, our congregations are tiny. It is a rare church that has a dozen employees. Most have one (the pastor)…
How to welcome a new pastor to your church
When Beth McConnell was being introduced to our congregation as our new pastor, someone asked her what we could do to make her transition easier. Beth is too humble to give you this list. Over the decades, I have given…
The niche word
Current wisdom for many professions is to find a niche market and focus. You can’t just write about travel. You have to write about gay travel or traveling as a handicapped person or travel in the Florida Keys or travel…
Would the real Jesus please stand up?: A Holiday Book Review
On American soil, Jesus was the subject of more evangelical hymns than the Father and the Holy Spirit combined. In fact, while evangelical hymns largely ignored the church, the sacraments, and the Trinity, they were obsessed with Jesus. American Jesus:…
A “buyer’s market” for pastor search committees
The 21st century is proving to be a buyer’s market for many churches that are looking for a pastor. Even a tiny, troubled Baptist church can get 100 resumes from men and women looking for a church to pastor. A…
The hardest job in the world
A pastor has one of the hardest jobs in the world. When I was a pastor, I was not willing to say that sentence. It seemed self-serving and whiny. I heard other people say how hard a pastor’s work is,…
Buyer’s remorse for pastor search committees
Members of pastor search committees often experience buyer’s remorse. Buyer’s remorse is when a person or a family has made a large purchase, a house or a car, for example, and then they begin to second-guess their decision. Regret sets…
Falling Upward ‘best book I have read in a decade’
Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr is the best book I have read in a decade, and I read a lot of books! Richard Rohr spoke to me on every page of this…