Robust is a good word, a positive word. A robust cup of coffee in the morning. A robust glass of dark beer in the evening. Even a game of croquet sounds better when it is robust. Robust is a good word, a positive word. A robust local Christian congregation. Strong. Vigorous. Sturdy. Full bodied. Yes, full bodied. Good for coffee. […]
DON’T TOUCH IT. As pastor in your congregation, it is a good idea never to touch money—the congregation’s cash that is. Money is one of the three great temptations. Many a pastor has lost his ministry and damaged his congregation because he took money that was not his. Normally small things start this. You have a petty cash fund that […]
What a time we are having. What times we are having. Pandemic. Physical distance. Police shooting. Protests. Riots. Tension. Anger. Fear. Spikes. Spats. Spitting. Like Jacob, let’s wrestle God for a blessing. Here is my wrestling in the convergence of recent events. The wearing or not wearing of masks creates both instant and superficial judgment. By the appearance of our […]
Not everything you learned in Seminary is true or helpful. Certainly, the Bible is both. But some of the things the professor said are neither. Your professors were learned not infallible. This post deals with a topic I never found to be true, or at least not particularly helpful or complete. “A home going pastor makes for a church going […]
Like everyone else over the last three months I adjusted in an instant to live-stream worship, Zoom meetings and any other digital, computer aided gizmo I could find to keep in touch with people and keep our ministry moving forward. Thank God for virtual reality! Indeed, God provides. It’s been good, but it’s not been great. When all is said […]
One of my anxieties as a beginning pastor was praying publicly. I remember as a freshly minted minister being asked to say the prayer at the potluck for my first installation. The pressure was on. My wife was present, mom and dad too. Area clergy, veterans of many a potluck prayer, stood waiting to hear what kind of fella the Seminary was […]
My wife Sallie and I have been married forty years this Sunday. A friend asked me this last week what I have learned in forty years of marriage. It was one of those questions that called for instant profundity. I have problems being profound even with the luxury of time. Here is what popped into my mind and mouth. “It […]
To state the obvious: you must make sure that you spend time with your family, corporately and individually. Daily, weekly and seasonally, e.g. vacations, you need to be with the family and they need to be with you. You neglect this to the detriment of all: yourself, your family, your ministry. Having stated the obvious, let me address this issue […]
I like democracy. I like the idea of voting. It is one of the things that is great about America. I would want no other system. But I am not so crazy about it in the Church, or at least in the local congregation. In fact through the years as a pastor I have endeavored to see how few of […]
Holidays are hard. Unless you come from a pastor’s family, I am not sure there is any way to really be prepared for how hard the holidays are for a pastor. I know I wasn’t. This is not to whine, but it must be brought out into the open. If you do not deal well with the special challenges of […]