The below excerpt is from my book The Renegade Pastor’s Guide to Managing the Stress of Ministry.

It is absolutely true that words alone cannot change reality. But the words we say to ourselves can shape the way we see the world around us. Negative self-talk can harm you in ways that you may not even realize.

When you believe that you always mess things up, or that you are unlucky, or that God is punishing you for some reason, you will shy away from, or even sabotage, your own success. Many Christians (pastors and non-clergy alike) believe that, for some reason, they are not worthy of God’s blessing. So they shy away from the good things that God wants to give them.

My (Richard’s) church is deeply involved in helping people recover from drug and alcohol addiction. Unfortunately, I see the effects of this kind of negative self-talk all the time. People believe that because of their past mistakes, they are doomed to a life of addiction. They see the possibility of forgiveness and transformation through Christ, but they just don’t think it’s possible for them.

– Nelson Searcy and Richard Jarman

The above excerpt is from p. 58-60 of The Renegade Pastor’s Guide to Managing the Stress of Ministry.

Pastors Nelson Searcy and Richard Jarman share their secrets to effective stress management with practical steps and insights that you can start implementing immediately! God wants you to be a fruitful, faithful minister of the gospel. He wants you, as a Renegade Pastor, to rise above average as you pursue God’s best for you, your family, and your ministry.

P.S. – Click here to grab your copy from Amazon today!

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.