I have known and worked with some incredibly gifted and godly pastors. And some real stinkers. I worked with a pastor who was so ill-tempered he once nearly provoked the custodian to a fist-fight. Mean as a snake.  I watched a pastor in Haiti steal money from our Christian school. There was no tangible proof. I know of one pastor who left his wife and moved in with another woman. Completely unrepentant. I thought I had seen the worst. Then in Columbus here a few years back there was a prominent pastor who got himself in debt to the drug…

In the Lifeway Research study of the biggest challenges facing 2,000 pastors, 61% checked the box for “Confessing and repenting from personal sin”.  In real numbers, that’s 1,220 of those 2,000 pastors. Three pastors out of every five.  I don’t know how you read “confessing and repenting from personal sin” being a problem for a pastor, but in my mind, that equals “I have a secret that could ruin me if it ever got out”.  I can’t think of one thing that would stunt a church’s growth more thoroughly than to be governed by a pastor with a secret sin.…

Yesterday I floated the idea that a pastor’s personal prayer and Bible study time should be considered as part of the standard “40 hours” committed to the church each week. (Though, not too many pastors get by with just 40.) This idea sprouts from an experience I had 25 years ago with one of the most unusual churches I have ever come across. Back in my seminary days (the late 1990s), I was part of a youth ministry team with my good friends Tim and Jamie. We called ourselves FishForce and we traveled around to speak and sing and teach…

Lifeway Research asked 1,000 pastors to look over a list of 44 common challenges faced in ministry and then indicate which ones were current struggles for them. I listed the top 11 challenges a few days ago from the Lifeway website, but lets narrow our focus today to six of those top 11. Here they are with their ranking and the percentage of pastors who indicated this as a current challenge: #2 – Consistency in personal prayer: 72% #3 – Friendships and fellowship with others: 69% #5 – Consistency of Bible reading not related to sermon or teaching preparation: 68% #6  – Trusting…

Topping the list of challenges faced by pastors in a recent Lifeway Research study of 1,000 pastors was this:  75% of pastors polled indicated their flock’s apathy was a significant challenge to them.  3 out of every 4 pastors! A word of advice to pastors: Guard yourselves. Your attitudes and your words. This frustration over your congregation’s apathy can leak into your sermons. I have heard it happen plenty of times. It reveals itself in condescension. And complaining. And assuming. The pastor may end up preaching only to the uncommitted, leaving the spiritually mature unfed. I once heard a pastor say,…

Lifeway Research asked 200 pastors for a list of challenges they face in ministry. That list was run past another 200 pastors and ultimately the researchers compiled a comprehensive list of 44 items that were frequently mentioned. Next, 1,000 pastors were asked to check which items on that list of 44 were challenges for them personally. That seems a solid way to gather accurate data.  Nevertheless, it is safe to assume some of these may not accurately portray the whole truth. Even if the survey was completely anonymous, it would be hard for some pastors to admit to struggling with…

It’s the night before the Spring Banquet – Mission Resource’s annual celebration of the past, look to the future, and fundraiser. This date has been on the calendar since before I started with Mission Resource in January.  Somehow this feels like my official start. And I am a bit nervous. Mostly excited though.  I am using Exodus 3 in my speech tomorrow night and parts of that story feel very relevant to me at the moment. I guess I am feeling a bit like Moses must have felt like as he approached the burning bush: scared beyond belief, unsure of…