MISTAKES WERE MADE When a pastor comes to the time for retirement, many make the error of believing that they…

I’m working on a new book that will be titled God Laughs–Why Don’t You? Exploring the use of humor to…

WHERE WILL YOU LIVE? While choosing where you will live is always an option for people when they retire, there…

SAYING A GOOD GOODBYE  We continue to think about how a well loved pastor should prepare the congregation for the…

HEALTHY PASTORATES FEEL GOOD If you have had a good experience as pastor of a church over several years, then…

THE AWEFUL CALL It is awful to be called by God in the original sense of the word.  Consider the…

SEXUAL SCANDAL PLAGUES THE CHURCH It happened again. A descent pastor with multiple gifts destroys his promising ministry by having…

I’m developing a series called “Healthy Clergy Make Healthy Congregations.” (HCMHC). All of it is in preparation for the fall…

OK, SO YOU HAVE RETIRED I retired in June of 2006. The first thing I wanted to do was find…

I’VE RUN THE RACE A few years before I retired, the Presbyterian Church debated whether Honorably Retired should be the…

This is a litany making use of Psalm 111. Draw upon what you have heard about the gifts and contributions…

CONGREGATIONAL INITIATIVE The celebration of the ministry of a church’s staff needs to be initiated by the congregational leadership. This…

HALF PASTORS OR WHOLE PASTORS If we tend to neglect appreciating the work of pastors, we double that neglect when…

By J Harold Ellens, 2 May, 2014 A Star and A Tear, Stephen McCutchan, 2013, Pp 386, Self Published. Reviewed…

AFFIRMING STAFF MINISTRY A council that cares about those who are exercising ministry on their behalf should take time occasionally…

A TIME TO LISTEN At least every couple of years, and in times of extreme stress more often, you should…

WORSHIP Denominational staff members who work for the larger church need to deliberately identify ways that they take care of…

THE MINISTRY OF DENOMINATIONAL STAFF Denominational staff are a specialized or extra-congregational ministry that needs to be addressed. As we…

RECOGNITION OF MINISTRY In any given presbytery or regional gathering of the church, there are several who exercise their call…

   CONNECTING WITH THE BODY Most people who are involved in specialized ministry also are associated with a congregation. Sometimes…