For 34 years now, I have had the privilege of serving as a pastor. Even after all of these years I consider myself to be a student of ministry, not an expert. I have been privileged to serve remarkable congregations…
I’m a Christian minister
“Well it was nice to meet you, but I’ve go to go. Maybe I’ll see you around.” That’s what he said after we’d been talking for almost 15 minutes. Who knows, we could’ve become pretty good friends, but he had…
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…
Bivocational ministry is a thing of great beauty
Jack was the bivocational pastor of the church I attended in Pennsylvania when that church licensed me to ministry as a step towards my ordination. Dale was the bivocational national leader for bivocational ministries among Baptists. Glenn was the bivocational…
Thinking outside the seminary
Seminary on $3 per day? I had a great seminary experience in the 1970s. I matriculated for nine years, and earned three degrees. The total cost I paid for my seminary education was under $10,000, which was just less than…
On accepting a call to pastor
I am literally speechless. I have accepted the call to be the interim pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Fellowship in Lexington, S.C. I am speechless because even on this blog, I have expressed my doubts about being able to find a…
Clergy discouragement and satisfaction: part one
Recently, I’ve read a number of posts on various sites dealing with the topics of clergy discouragement and satisfaction. For what it may prove worth, I’ll add my observations to the conversation. Let’s start with discouragement. Based on my own…
Sharpen the axe
Abraham Lincoln is reported to have said: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” This approach to preparation was popularized by Stephen Covey in his book The 7…
Should ministers mess with social media?
Social media is not going anywhere, at least not anytime soon. And more importantly, social media represents something much bigger regarding communication shifts. I recently received and responded to an email from a pastor regarding his social media concerns: Dear…