Pastoral
THOSE VISION STATEMENTS: THERE’S MORE TO THEM THAN MEETS THE EYE
If you are looking for the flavour of the month around many churches, go no further than the dreaming up of vision statements, the setting of goals and the identifying of measurable objectives. If you are really taking the Gospel seriously, you will surely be drafting up a directions manual for the next five years […]
PASTORS: HOW IS YOUR CAREER PATH GOING?
Most congregations have their own private collection of rising stars. They may be few or many. There may be a young lawyer or two. Perhaps an accountant, or youthful executive type. Within a year or two at most they are happily out-earning the pastor who has been on the job for half a life time. […]
THE DANGER OF SLOWING DOWN
Some pastors get high on people; others are totally absorbed in getting things done; a few respond to needs before they occur and are so far ahead they have planned the funeral service for the child they have just dedicated. Now not all of us are spiritual Ferraris but we do tend to measure our […]
Hormones and Ministry: A Good Mix?
Ministry has never been a hormone free zone. Sexuality has always been on the short list of occupational hazards for pastors. Our own culture remains preoccupied with sexual issues. The sexual freedom of the post pill, vasectomy and abortion eras has continued to stimulate lust rather than love, technique rather than understanding, adventure rather than […]
Yes, Pastor, But Do You Love Them?
The meeting was a tough one. The pastor and elders met to reflect on the growing unrest in the church. Harmony just now was eluding everyone. After the elders left, the pastor said quietly, “I think I know the real problem. It has just struck me. I do not love these people.” Despite several years […]
Coping with the Damaged People
The more effective the congregation is in reaching and welcoming all comers, the greater the likelihood of embracing a growing battalion of broken people all needing help of one kind or another. There is one group which is proving to be a genuine headache: they are the damaged people. The damaged people (DP’s) carry a […]
Pastors: Ten Things Your Congregation Probably Won’t Tell You
For all our talk about community and openness in the life of the church, when it comes to the crunch there are several no go areas. Like it or not there are some hot potatoes which few are game enough to address. Churches will simply not raise them with their pastors despite there being a […]
What Kinds of Pastors Are Our Churches Looking For?
What Are Our Churches Looking For? Over recent years the Pastoral Search Committees (PSC’s) of our churches have been encouraged to give very careful thought to the shaping of their pastoral profiles before undertaking interviews. The pastoral profile is a usually a comprehensive description of the qualities which the PSC is seeking in a new […]
Put Your Hand Up If You Are Drowning
We’ve all met the hyperactive pastor who claims to read three books a week minimum (why get out of bed in the morning?), listens to half a dozen cassettes every other day (do they ever talk to their partner or kids?), reads all their magazines (I don’t open all of mine let alone read them), […]
Don’t Look Now, But They’re Just Like You!
No, not your kids. Or your other rellies. It’s your congregation . Those folks who call your church their home. The ones who are so able to bring great joy and great drama all in the one hit. They are getting more like you every day. The longer you are with them, the more they […]
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