Challenging times like these call for next-level leadership. And it seems like now — perhaps more than ever before — we’re being tested as church leaders. Since it’s more critical than ever that we equip ourselves as top leaders, I want to help you “POWER UP” this week and add to your pastoral leadership toolbox. So I’ve pulled together all of my best leadership resources — all in one … Read More
The Voice in Your Head: Replacing Old Thinking With New
Psychologists tell us that we can’t just get rid of a bad habit, including a negative thought pattern. We have to fill the vacated space with something new. Otherwise, our well-intentioned change won’t last; we will revert back to comfortable habits and well-worn patterns. So as you begin eliminating thoughts that don’t benefit you, you have to immediately replace those … Read More
Get a FREE digital copy of my Healthy Renegade Pastor book
Does your health and wellness keep getting pushed further and further down the priority list? These days, when time seems short and stressful demands are growing, it may seem easiest to push your health needs to the bottom of the list — but doing this can eventually catch up with you! So I want to make it easier for you … Read More
Decompress Daily: The Importance of Keeping a Positive, Thankful Outlook
As pastors, we can’t allow negative, anxious thoughts to overwhelm us — at least not for long. After all, we serve a big, amazing God who is greater than all our troubles. When we focus on everything that’s wrong around us, we can become defeated. But if we keep our focus on the things that are going right, we might … Read More
Bill Bright on Exercising Your Faith Muscles
“I had to learn how to trust the Lord. My faith muscles grew. Just like, you’re exercising your muscles and they may be sore for a while, but they become stronger with exercise.” — William R. “Bill” Bright (October 19, 1921 – July 19, 2003) was an American evangelist and Christian leader. His influence spanned the last half of the … Read More
Charting a New Course: What to Do When You Don’t Respond Well to Stress
Let’s face it: none of us are always going to respond correctly, especially when a challenging situation first hits. So let’s talk briefly about what to do when we’ve had time to reflect and realize that we could have done things better. Here are three ideas about what to do if you find you’ve started handling a difficulty in an … Read More
Managing Stress Monday: Identifying Stressors to Make for Better Ministry
The below excerpt is from my book The Renegade Pastor’s Guide to Managing the Stress of Ministry. The reason why we need to take time to become clear about the real stressors we face is that often those stressors aren’t rapidly apparent. They may even deceive us at first. This happens for a number of reasons: Sometimes we are too … Read More
8 Steps to Getting Out of Debt
Today’s guest post comes to us from Rick Warren for Pastors.com. It’s impossible to estimate the kind of good the church could do for the world if every believer was financially healthy and spiritually mature in the area of generosity. The problem is, the church is hurting in this area–badly. I believe we, as church leaders, often underestimate the amount … Read More
Managing Your Time (Part 3 of 3)
In the final part of this three-part blog series, I’d like to share the second practice that will be an essential component to managing your time well. Don’t Start Your Day Until You’ve Planned Your Day You may have heard the old axiom “Plan your work, then work your plan.” The wisdom in that saying is right on point. The most productive … Read More
Managing Your Time (Part 2 of 3)
Last week, we started the conversation on time management in part one of this blog series. I’ve noticed that the average pastor lets urgent matters and other people’s agendas eat away hours of his or her time. Since the greatest ministries require the greatest time management, it’s time to embrace learning to manage your time well. Here are a couple practices … Read More