Attentively Caring For Your Family, Church, and Community as a Bi-Vocational Pastor
One of the greatest challenges for bi-vocational pastors is figuring out how to attentively care for the people God has placed in their lives—family, church members, and community—while also balancing the demands of work and ministry.
In this post…
From Inspiration to Implementation: A Field Guide for Turning Big Ideas into Real Change
If you’ve ever flown home from a conference with a full notebook and an empty plan, you’re not alone. Inspiration is easy to find; implementation is where transformation happens. In our latest Replant Bootcamp episode, we walk through practical ways…
Leading From the Middle
A Noble Yet Unrealistic Proposal
Their budget request was noble, but it wasn’t reasonable—at least not for the church’s current context. The church was dying. In fact, it fit more into the category described in Revelation 3:3: “You have a name that…
Reframing Conflict
Reframing Conflict
He was cordial, polite, hospitable, and soft-spoken—traits that had helped him build a significant following over the years and gain influence in the church. However, he was also habitually critical of pastoral leadership. Before…
Tactical Patience in Ministry
Tactical Patience in Ministry: Lessons from an Organ and a Saint
For years, the music ministry of our church was led by Mrs. Frances Jones—a woman of grace, faith, and dedication. She taught children to play piano, tirelessly served the church, and…
Setting Ministry Goals: Lessons in Trust, Humility, and Biblical Focus
Setting Ministry Goals
When I stepped into the role of Senior Pastor, our leadership team came together for an intense session, hoping to set ministry goals. We prayed, studied, and hoped—imagining what God might accomplish in our church. Zealously…
Failing to Adapt to the Changing Community
A Changing Community
The seasoned deacon stopped in his tracks and turned to me with a frustrated glance. It had been a contentious deacon’s meeting where we discussed new outreach methods, the worship service, and the decline in Sunday School atten…
Redeeming Your Time in Ministry: Learning From My Failure
I wasn’t managing my time well. What’s worse is that it was beginning to show. It was early in my ministry, and I had a tiger by the tail. I was still leading the youth ministry, teaching a senior adult Sunday School class, leading a Wednesday morni…
Don’t Pastor Alone
In two separate conversations I’ve recently had with individuals involved in replanting a dying church, pastoral moral failure emerged as a significant factor contributing to the church’s decline. Similarly, in another conversation, an affinity grou…
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