A few years ago I commissioned Barna Research, Lifeway Research, and Christianity Today to survey almost 2,000 pastors to discover what issues can cause a ministry or a leader’s passion for ministry to die. I based one of my books on those findings. Out of those findings, these four key questions emerged that all spiritual leaders […] The post Avoid Ministry Burnout by Asking Yourself 4 Questions appeared first on Charles Stone ..read more

Curveballs in life are inevitable. Unexpected surprises can level us or become opportunities to learn. The curveball thrown to Joseph when Mary told him about her “surprise” pregnancy certainly caught Joseph off guard, quite a curveball. But the story in Matthew 1 gives us 5 insights on how to respond when life throws you a curveball. First, a bit […] The post 5 Ways to Respond When Life Throws you a Curveball appeared first on Charles Stone ..read more

From time to time every leader and pastor and person faces burnout. The well runs dry. He or she becomes weary in well doing. He runs out of gas. She simply has nothing left to give. When we totter on the precipice of burnout, what can we do? As I’ve faced those times during my ministry, I’ve […] The post Burnout: How to Dig Out appeared first on Charles Stone ..read more

In Richard Swenson’s seminal book, Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, he defines margin this way. Margin is the space between our load and our limits. Margin is the space between our load and our limits-Richard SwensonClick To Tweet He says it is related to our reserves and resilience. He calls […] The post 10 Indicators You Have no Margin in your Life appeared first on Charles Stone ..read more

The ‘honeymoon’ concept dates as far back as the 5th century. After getting married, a newlywed couple would often drink lots of mead, a honey-based alcoholic drink thought to have aphrodisiac properties. So, their inebriation made everything between the two early on appear overly positive. And then when they got sober they faced reality. In a similar […] The post When the Ministry Honeymoon Wears Off appeared first on Charles Stone ..read more

When we think about fatigue, we usually think of physical tiredness…we worked too hard in the yard, we didn’t sleep well the night before, or we’re working too many hours. Fatigue certainly includes those causes, but for many Christian leaders, or anybody for that matter, another kind of fatigue can rob our energy and diminish … 4 Signs Decision Fatigue is Degrading your Decisions Read More » The post 4 Signs Decision Fatigue is Degrading your Decisions appeared first on Charles Stone ..read more

I’ve adapted and used the Getting Things Done productivity process for years, but sometimes it seems cumbersome. Recently, however, I discovered insights from a Microsoft employee who wrote the book, Getting Results the Agile Way. (I highly recommend it) It’s a simple process that helps improve personal productivity. I’ve summarized below the 4 simple decisions he suggests that … 4 Simple Decisions that Can Boost Personal Productivity Read More » The post 4 Simple Decisions that Can Boost Personal Productivity appeared first on Charles Stone ..read more

In the 1992 presidential race Ross Perot coined the phrase, “giant sucking sound,” to describe his concern that a proposed treaty would cause American jobs to go overseas. I believe it aptly describes how ministry can sometimes feel to church leaders. Every day church ministry demands that we sooth someone’s hurt feelings, solve a ministry … 8 Indicators that your Ministry May be Drowning You Read More » The post 8 Indicators that your Ministry May be Drowning You appeared first on Charles Stone ..read more

Defensiveness. We’ve all been guilty. Someone in our family says something that hurts us and we say something back to retaliate. A person at work makes a comment about us and we internally stiffen up. Someone in our church questions a decision we made as a leader and we react and defend our position. It’s easy … How Curiosity Can Make you Less Defensive Read More » The post How Curiosity Can Make you Less Defensive appeared first on Charles Stone ..read more

Several years ago I got a tweet that a large church in the southeast was starting another campus in the county where I started a church over 20 years ago. This church started out with over 1,000 from day one. The church I started finally reached 500 after 14 years. I must confess that unpleasant emotions crept … The Curse of Comparison: when pastors compare Read More » The post The Curse of Comparison: when pastors compare appeared first on Charles Stone ..read more