Reasonable and unreasonable Expectations A next step is to try to come up with a mutually agreed upon list of…

Pressure of Expectations Next let us look at the pressures of expectations. Sometimes we live in conformity with, and sometimes…

The Pressure of Call in Marriage It is not unusual for a pastor to sense God’s call after s/he is…

Now you are ready for a family discussion. Depending on the ages of your children, you may want to make…

Family Finances One of the pressures in discussion about finances between a husband and a wife is the issue of…

Spiritual Help for Family Stress There is ample medical evidence that stress takes its toll on our physical bodies. Stress,…

Evaluation of Family Health All of us have families in some form or other and an important part of our…

Along with the increasingly disturbing statistics about the decline of clergy physical health, comes the unpleasant reality that the clergy…

On October 2, 2012 at 2 p.m. EST and repeat at 8 pm EST, I will be leading a webinar…

Presbytery Pastoral Care Network 13th Annual National Gathering Staying Afloat on Stormy Seas: Caring for Clergy in Trying Times October…

The Session could derive some real benefit and encouragement by doing a random poll of the membership around certain open-ended…

To prevent both burn-out and loss of faith, it is important to pay attention to our sense of calling or…

How are you doing spiritually? This can be an excellent framework for a conversation with a trusted colleague. A spiritual…

Think about what you should be doing with respect to your financial health. Here are some suggestions to consider putting…

All of us have families in some form or other and an important part of our core healthiness is to…

Ministry is stressful, with lots of ups and downs. Paying attention to your emotional health is important in maintaining a…

Find a colleague with whom you can explore the following questions. Not all the questions are important for everyone, but…

The best questions for conversation are ones that allow for a variety of responses that enable the group to probe…

How often have you greeted someone with the question: “How are you doing?” and had no intention of having that…

Fourth Step: a Scriptural Framework Psalm 23 offers an interesting framework for continuing the evaluation of a congregational ministry. Begin…