When I was preparing in seminary to become a pastor, I was offered an internship at a local church. The pastor asked me what area of ministry I was interested in focusing on most. I told him I would do pretty much anything – teaching, adult discipleship, student ministry, missional living, worship and liturgy, or […]

When I was studying to go into ministry, one of the professors told us aspiring pastors that we should never expect to have close friends in the churches that we lead. It is always best, the professor said, to seek out friendships with people who are not part of our churches. At the time, I found this […]

In my earliest days as a minister—somewhere around my mid-twenties—an older mentor challenged me to “attempt something so great for God that it is doomed for failure, unless God be in it.” Embracing his challenge, I began to dream of great things for the future. I envisioned becoming the kind of leader whose ministry would produce […]