WE NEVER HAD PREMARITAL counseling, but we spent the first year of our married life in therapy. Once a week, we met with a counselor who helped us iron out the wrinkles we never even saw before getting married. Not that we were in serious trouble. But we had this […]
Growing up in the church, I often heard people talking about what it means to “know God.” I assumed that they meant knowing about God, presumably from reading their Bibles and paying closer attention to our pastor’s sermons than I probably did. But when I was fifteen, I visited a […]
Pruning Hurts I have a neighbor who is an expert rose grower. His front and back yards are beautiful, so I invited him to come over to my back yard and work his magic on my roses. He was a wonder to watch. He brought his loppers to do his […]
After forty years at the same church and forty-two years in the pastorate, I know something about ministerial stress. It comes in many forms—weariness, burnout, frustration, feelings of failure, discouragement, red ink, blue moods, and wolves and skunks who dress up like sheep and slip into the fold. What amazes […]
“Pastor,” in tears, “my daughter just came home from college and told me she thinks she is a lesbian. We don’t know what to do.” “Pastor,” in confusion, “a seventh-grade girl told her group she is bisexual, and has a crush on another girl. Should we let her come on […]
Creating an emotionally healthy culture and building a healthy team are among the primary tasks for every leader, whether that leader is a senior pastor, a para-church ministry department head, a nonprofit or a marketplace executive, a church board member, or a small group leader. And the task for Christian […]
