Every now and then I will hear a leader say, “I am absolutely out of gas! I’m going to ask my board for a sabbatical.” I’m hearing it even more often in these current trying times.
Read MoreFor many, work slows down during the Christmas season. Children are off school. College students are on semester break. Some businesses actually shut down in the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Many individuals simply use vacation or personal days. Pastors don’t have that opportunity.
Read MoreSo, it’s really going to happen! Your church board has okayed it and you’re actually going get an extended time off for a study and renewal break. Now what? Let me offer you some thoughts that have come out of my own experience.
Read MorePeriodically I’m asked what the “secret” was to my 35-year run as pastor of Fellowship Missionary Church. And, to be sure, my first response is always, “It was by God’s grace. I had no greater vision than most, and I had no greater strength than most.”
Read MoreI was privileged to lead a wonderful church for nearly 35 years. That I was able to do so, however, is tragically rare. The majority of those who shared my vocation did not share my celebration. Indeed, the median tenure of pastors is 6 years. It’s not just that pastors move on from their churches. Many of them move out of ministry completely.
The fact is, pastors today are in peril.
Read More