I write with trepidation. Any mention of politics can get you in trouble. Throw politics into the context of the local church, and the mood can quickly turn caustic. Elections are contentious. They have been for most of our nation’s history. The tensions surrounding this year’s election season should not be a surprise. There are important issues people should care about deeply. Elections matter, and voting is important. In some ways, politics has always had a presence in the church. A pure separation is not possible, nor is it recommended. St. Nikolai Evangelical Lutheran Church was instrument ..read more

The lockdowns did not shorten the workweek. Many people in a variety of professions are working more hours. I wanted to know how COVID-19 affected the workweek of pastors. At Church Answers, I asked a simple question of our community of pastors and church leaders. How many extra hours have you worked per week during the pandemic? The sample size was small and limited to our community of people at Church Answers. It’s not a scientific poll, but it does provide insight into what is happening with the workload of pastors during the pandemic. I was surprised about twenty-eight percent of pastors ..read more

The weariness produces physical aches. The weight of stress can smother you. Every week feels like a marathon. Some of my pastor friends have been pushed out of their churches. Others wonder if they are next. The church down the road sold their campus to a developer. You feel the pressure of long-distance shepherding. Not everyone can be present. You make phone call after phone call checking on people you love. There are not enough hours in the day. Pastoring a church has always been a demanding profession. Most churches need to change, but they don’t desire it. When you are hired, the people ..read more

When pastors and deacons work together, the ministry of the church thrives. When they are at odds, ministry struggles. Deacons are called to be unifiers in the church. Pastors should treat deacons positively and with respect. When hostility exists between pastors and deacons, the church will drift away from the mission. Too often deacons are forced into roles they are not passionate about. You can breathe life into the deacon body by giving them responsibilities in the areas they love. In this episode, Josh gives a great tip about how to equip deacons. It involves a pocketknife. Special Est.C ..read more

We had a predictable rhythm to our worship services. It was a good pattern that served our church. Then the pandemic hit, and we had to rethink everything. Overnight, the way we did worship no longer worked. After a brief closure, we reopened in-person services to an entirely new format. Here is what we did. Here is what we’ve learned. We have five services in two languages across two sites. To minimize the impact of change and to account for social distancing measures, all our services kept their old time slots. Though it’s tough to predict, in most cases, when a church removes an option for ..read more

By now, you’ve heard the call to capture the opportunity of a blank slate. The current pandemic is prompting every church to reconsider approaches to ministry. Practically, how do you start this process? One consideration is a “whiteboard session.” The term refers to a meeting in which a group of people collaborate with an open mind. The whiteboard reference implies starting fresh with nothing on the board—a “blank slate” if you’re referencing a chalkboard. The two keys to a whiteboard session are collaboration and creativity. The group should work together on new ideas. Multiple people share ..read more

As a pastor, you are part of the body of Christ. Within the body, friendship is important, even for pastors. Pastors should have friends in the church and model friendship for the church. Friendship takes time, and the expectation of instant friendship in the church is not healthy. The lead pastor should be friendly with staff, but being a friend to subordinates is challenging. The staff needs you to be a great boss first and a friend second. If you want friends in the church as a pastor, you have to take the initiative. The more mature and older you get as a pastor, the easier it becomes to m ..read more

Every negative word has the power of one hundred positive words. This idea comes from one of my mentors, Brad Waggoner. He challenged me to rethink the way I communicate, both personally and professionally. Think of encouragement and discouragement on different sides of a scale. One hundred pieces of encouragement weigh the same as one piece of discouragement. In your marriage, in work relationships, and in the church, the 100 factor of negativity is always in effect. If you are consistently negative, then you are digging a dark hole. Negativity has many variants, all of which can turn into go ..read more

How deep is too deep for pastoral involvement in social media? In this episode, we discuss how pastors can lead through social media. Twitter and other places can be a cesspool, so dive in with caution. Do not use your children as a platform builder online. Be a kingdom builder online. Focus more on encouragement than anything else. Watch out for things that get on your nerves but are not sin issues. A good rule of thumb for shepherding online is to be 99% encouraging and only 1% corrective. Don’t feel the pressure to comment on every social issue online. Balance is key. Let the whole of your ..read more

Every pastor experiences a season of weariness and being tired. On this episode, we discuss how pastors can lead while tired. When you’re tired as a church leader, it is important to know what to share with your spouse. When you’re tired as a pastor, you must lead from a place of optimism and not negativity. Isolation is never good when you’re tired as a church leader. Develop friends who can help you filter and discern what’s next. When you’re tired one key to a less stressful week is getting your sermon done early. Special Est.Church sponsor – Check out these resources from Church Initiativ ..read more