HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND? Imagine being introduced to a large crowd of people who had the following characteristics. They believed…

BEFORE THE BEGINNING Consider what happens before the new pastor arrives at a congregation. Let me describe some of the…

MAJORITY RULES This is an adaption of a community building game adapted to a church community. The set up for…

Church Conflict – You Be the Judge Despite Jesus prayer that we may be one so that the world would believe…

HOW TO TRUST WHEN YOU CAN’T VERIFY Ronald Reagan famously coined the phrase that you should trust and verify. Whether…

BIBLICAL JOURNEY OF TRUST A major theme running throughout the biblical story is the theme of trust. Trust involves risk.…

I’m increasingly concerned about the effect of living in an era of cynicism and distrust. Perhaps the most important issue…

This is an excerpt from Volume 9 of Healthy Clergy Make Healthy Congregations, Clergy Vocational Health. To be published this…

Celebrating God’s Imperfect Church I think it was Loren Eiseley who said if humans had designed the universe, they would…

Can you save the church? As the early church discovered, you can’t do it alone and you can’t do it…

For your Lenten devotionals, I offer five formats for your time of prayer. The first one focuses on the praise…

A GAME OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE Most of us would like to deepen our spiritual lives but are not sure exactly…

THE UNFINISHED STORY OF A FAMILY JOURNEY We often speak of God’s call as a reference to an individual. Would…

ABRAHAM’S SACRIFICE While we may read with horror the story of Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac, most pastors know that…

Sometimes you hear people say, “it’s in the Bible.” But what you don’t know is what they are thinking as…

This is an excerpt from my soon to be published Clergy Spiritual Health. It is part of a nine-volume series…

I offer you a sample from my soon to be published Clergy Spiritual Health. Here is a fun example of…

A litany of Lament & Joy To be used by judicatories in worship   L:  When a congregation refuses to…

HEALTHY SPIRITUALITY In its simplest form, spirituality is how we stay in connection and communication with God. By speaking of…

Responding to Financial Stress It is not easy for small congregations to provide adequate salaries for full-time pastors. It is…