“I have to ask myself: am I doing anything I was called to do when I became a pastor?”
Five tips from the dead about living life in the new year
What troubles me most about the people I meet for the first time at the cemetery is how many of them failed to live life beyond basic expectations.
Denying grief over ‘sting of death’ brings its own sting, say ministers
Seasoned pastors with hundreds of funerals under their belts have seen the rites go from one extreme to another over the past three or four decades. “Growing up, almost every funeral was morbid, with open caskets and everything from the pulpit…
Pastor reflects on ‘exorbitant amount’ of funerals he’s preached
By Jeff Brumley For many pastors, two to three funerals a month is either average to a little high. For Barry Howard, that’s a light month. Howard, senior minister at First Baptist Church in Pensacola, Fla., said he’s seen as…
‘Nones’ increasingly uninterested in ministers at time of death, funerals
By Jeff Brumley There was a time when even the unchurched came to church for at least one occasion — their deaths. It was an era when nearly everyone, even those who rejected religion, had some connection to faith, however distant….
Will you be known when you die?
Years ago, there was a national ad campaign aimed at helping Americans understand the importance of going to church. One of my favorite ads in the series showed pallbearers carrying a casket in the front door of a church. The…
Pastors grieve too
In the last three years, I have conducted funerals for almost 40% of the active participants in my congregation. I have also officiated more than a dozen funerals for non- and inactive members. These numbers might seem staggering, but for…