As I like to say, all our planning is done in pencil. It sounds great, but it is wearying.
Chris’s blog: I’ve never known a time of such pressure for so many pastors, all at once. Join me on Zoom tomorrow (Mar 21) for a Leaders’ Round Table.
My generation of pastors is facing the greatest leadership challenge of its life, globally and in real time. From the human perspective, the future of the church rests on our actions over the next few weeks.
We pastors know that we need to speak to the sheep in our care. But what can we say, when we ourselves are making it up as we go along? Six hard-won lessons.
The military has an acronym: VACU – a context which is unusually Volatile, Ambiguous, Complex, and Uncertain. You’re now leading church in a VACU world.
In the blizzard of questions about how we do church-in-quarantine, the central question remains, ‘What will practically, relationally, build love between us?’
What is it about the patterns of being Christians together, that lays us open to spiritual abuse – both as perpetrators and victims?
Leadership has to be an expression of the Fruit of the Spirit, not a cover for egos, bullying and power.
Here is the single, most devastating sentence in the book: ‘“I am pretty sure a smart, productive atheist could do my job well,” said a successful pastor.’
So, what are the spiritual habits for pastors, so that we avoid self-sabotage? They are all obvious, but essential. And in my experience, we need to re-learn these lessons frequently, and with increasing force over time.
There are three forces which are determined that you fail to follow Christ, and will show you no mercy in attacking you at the moment of of your greatest vulnerability.
After I’ve looked back over the significant moments of the previous week, and everything that’s happened, I now want to ask, ‘Who do I need to thank’?
This is no surprise: I am a huge fan of Michael Hyatt’s products. They’ve become central to how I organise myself as a pastor. They are undeniably expensive here in the UK (especially when import duties apply as well as shipping), but the planners themselves justify it, I think. At least, I am still using
A book of wonderful treasures
This book is quite superb. Thoroughly researched, beautifully written, expertly selected, and dizzyingly clever.
The question we’re trying to answer is one I know you face too: How do you communicate well, in a busy church, with most people attending every two-to-three weeks?
I get to write a short piece each week, to every member we email. I get to write something biblical, of relevance on a Wednesday, which will be read on a Wednesday. I get to encourage (and that is the only aim, to encourage) mid week, every week.
Consumerism would say, we will offer what is directly relevant for you, and you can ignore the rest; countering that mindset means seeing the relevance of it for someone else, and being delighted that it’s happening.
I see people’s eyes glaze over with a sequence of announcements. They reach for their mental ‘mute’ buttons, or ‘fast forward’ buttons, or whatever you do to get over the ads and into the programme.
People listen to our announcements with their guards up – it’s their habitual response to being told about something.
