When You Feel Empty If you question your calling and competence, you’re not alone. Alistair Brown
Rating:Not yet rated $2.99
In that long ago, faraway book The Peter Principle lies the doctrine of my insecurity. The book states that climbers on the ladder of life are promoted rung by rung until they eventually reach a level they're not equipped to handle. Thus, by doing well, a person arrives at a plateau beyond his real capabilities and successfully "out-succeeds" himself. I have often been haunted by the fear that my ...
Personal and leadership frustrations are intertwined. The pressure comes from several directions: our insecurities, our children, our spouse, the church board. But who we are as a person ties it all together. — Leith Anderson
Preaching that Sunday was the last thing I wanted to do.
The church where I'd been serving as a part-time associate had indicated they would put me on staff full time. A few ...
Defeat and Disappointment Learn how to deal with the slings and arrows that come with leadership. Knute Larson
Rating:Not yet rated $2.99
Church work isn't war, but defeats are. — Knute Larson
I heard it through the grapevine: 23 members, pained at the changes I had made during my first days at The Chapel, had secretly met to pool their frustrations.
I immediately called the de facto leader and asked for a meeting. He said he had a list of what the group had prayed (and complained) about.
"Let's get all the concerned people together," ...
"Today I feel as though I'd like to quit, take a leave of absence, resign from the world, or something." So begins a line in my journal, penned a few years ago. I had never felt so much under attack.
We had just received another turndown from a potential youth pastor. The church seemed to be on a plateau, the elders stuck on dead center. In a matter of a few days, a young man from our congregation ...
The Decision to Stay Thoughts about leaving whisper to everyone, and scream to those who are discouraged. Kevin Miller
Rating:Not yet rated $2.99
It's always too soon to quit. —V. Raymond Edman
Is it time to leave my church? Maybe even the ministry?
Those questions, though seldom spoken, are often thought. A Leadership survey showed nearly 40 percent of pastors have "considered leaving" the pastorate and "looked into other types of ministries and/or occupations." That doesn't include the nearly 10 percent who did indeed give it up. And the ...
Staying on the Job Mounting pressures at mid-life can tempt ministry leaders to escape. Gary Fenton
Rating:Not yet rated $2.99
I know of a mid-life minister who loves to fish. He not only enjoys fishing, he is a good fisherman, according to those who can evaluate the sport. He spends a significant amount of time reading about fishing and searching the Internet. He says he has finally learned, in middle age, to enjoy life, but several of his church leaders have said that he has finally learned how to avoid life. This pastor ...
My tiny congregation stared back in shock. Those leaders who had already heard the news had moved beyond shock to become hurt and unhappy, but I didn't care. My sense of failure disqualified me to be their pastor. What had been an exciting personal dream just five years before was now a shredded "might have been," flapping in the lonely wind of unrealized ...
Printer view of these results
