Come on, Pastor. Is Your Job Really Tougher Than Mine?
It can be hard to be a pastor. But Jayson Bradley reminds us that job frustrations and challenges are not unique to the ministry. By…
Browsing: Pastoral Ministry
Articles
7 Suggestions for Welcoming New Pastors
Barry Howard outlines ways a congregation can prepare spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally for the arrival of a new pastor to make the most of a…
Letting Go of This Pastor and Preparing for the Next
Church consultant Susan Beaumont shares four leadership practices that can help a congregation prepare when their pastor is getting ready to leave. Approaching the situation…
The Changing Face of Ministry
Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe describes shifting staffing patterns and ministry models emerging as more and more mainline congregations suffer decline. The Lewis Center…
Episode 31: “Leaving Well and Starting Strong: Planning for an Effective Pastoral Transition” featuring Lovett H. Weems, Jr.
How can a pastor avoid common pitfalls and make the most of opportunities when moving from one congregation to the next? In this episode we speak with Lovett H. Weems, Jr., about how to plan for a pastoral transition, leave well, and get off to a strong start in a new church.
Lewis Center Launches Major Study of the Nation’s Religious Workforce
News Release LEWIS CENTER LAUNCHES MAJOR STUDY OF THE NATION’S RELIGIOUS WORKFORCE WASHINGTON, DC — The Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary…
Cross-Cultural Pastor as Spiritual Bridge Builder
HiRho Y. Park has studied how pastoral leaders can be more effective in cross-racial and cross-cultural ministry contexts. These pastors can be bridge builders, she…
Reducing the Number of Pastor-Congregation Mismatches
Perhaps the most impactful task for bishops and superintendents is matching pastors and congregations through the appointive process. Despite their best efforts, some matches do…
Episode 24: “Leadership Lessons from Lovett Weems”
Looking for practical strategies to more effectively engage others and lead change? Listen as leadership expert Lovett H. Weems Jr. shares some of his sage advice on the attitudes and practices that can help church leaders thrive.
The Process of Appointment-Making
Bishops and their Cabinets are entering the season of appointment-making. Many bishops and superintendents have developed careful processes and then seek to improve them each…
2 Churches — 1 Pastor
It is increasingly common for a congregation to share a pastor with another congregation and for pastors to be serving more than one church. Lew…
4 Traps for Clergy When Moving to a New Congregation
Bill Wilson of the Center for Healthy Churches says that the arrival of a new minister can be a marvelous opportunity to start anew for…
The One-Point Sermon
Charley Reeb, a Florida pastor known as a gifted preacher, says that it’s often easiest for listeners to stay focused when a sermon is organized…
Episode 6: “That’ll Preach” featuring Charley Reeb
How can you connect with more people and engage current parishioners better through preaching? In this Leading Ideas Talks, Lewis Center Director Douglas Powe speaks with Pastor Charley Reeb, author of That’ll Preach!: 5 Simple Steps to Your Best Sermon Ever (available at Cokesbury and Amazon).
4 Practices to Help Prevent Clergy Burnout
Matt and Kim Bloom, principal researchers with the Flourishing in Ministry research initiative, explain why clergy are at risk of burnout. Their research has found…
Should you Take an Electronic Sabbath?
Virginia pastor Thomas James, a leading voice on the use of social media in ministry, says our modern world may require a new vision of…
5 Things I Need from a Sermon
What do those in the pews need from a sermon? Larry Buxton says it’s more than platitudes and common sense. An effective sermon needs to…
Sources of Authority for Pastoral Leadership
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., explains that while people may give pastors a leadership position, the true authority needed to lead must be worked out among…
The Secret to Great Preaching
The secret of great preaching, according to Charley Reeb, is to engage your listeners. Stop thinking about what would impress your seminary professors, he says,…
9 Things Preachers Should Never Say
Many preachers shoot themselves in the foot when they start off with hackneyed or formulaic phrases that fail to capture the fleeting attention of those…
Management by Wishful Thinking?
Personnel matters in ministry settings are almost always more complicated than in business, says church leadership expert Mike Bonem. He names the shifts in attitude…
Why Year-End Evaluations Rarely Help Leaders Grow
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., explains why year-end performance evaluations are insufficient to help people grow and improve. While year-end reviews are important, ongoing feedback that…
3 Questions to Preserve Energy and Passion in Ministry
Heather Bradley and Miriam Bamberger Grogan are executive coaches with a particular concern for the wellbeing of clergy. They say that spiritual leaders are often…
Clergy Age Trends in the United Methodist Church in 2016
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., reports that despite a modest but steady increase in the number of young clergy in the United Methodist Church over the…
Why You Can’t Build a Church around the Pastor
Reflecting on the forced resignation of a mega-church pastor in South Carolina, Roger Lovette says serious problems follow any time a church is built around…
Becoming the Person God Created You to Be
Laurie Haller says that clergy going into a new church can only lead effectively when they are authentic to who they know they are and…
The Myth of Balance
Karoline Lewis writes that the notion that one can keep all the important aspects of life in perfect balance is an unattainable myth. It can…
Clergy Personal Finance Resources
Our basic responsibility as Christian stewards is to manage our personal financial resources so that we can care for ourselves and our families and marshal…
More Than a Nonanxious Presence
When I came to my first local church appointment in California from the East Coast, about the only thing I had been told about the…
Ten Ways Congregations Can Promote the Financial Wellbeing of Clergy
Financial wellbeing is essential to the overall health and well being of those in pastoral ministry. Accordingly, the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health…
