One day this week, I took one of our staffers along for a pastoral visit with a family in the early stages of grief.As some of you know, it's the kind of work that I find challening but invigorating.On the drive back to the church, my Good Shepherd colleague and I...

This is the season of the year when many United Methodist pastors begin new assignments.I've only been through that kind of season twice -- once in 1990 when I graduated from seminary and began serving Mt. Carmel & Midway Churches in Monroe and again in 1999 when...

My good friend and former staff colleague Rich Tuttle had his very first Sunday in his new assignment (what Methodists call an "appointment") this past Sunday. Rich is now serving Catawba UMC in between Hickory and Lake Norman.So it all got me thinking about my very...

Unsigned notes.Anonymous letters.Correspondence signed simply, "concerned." All preachers have received them. I've had a handful through the years. And believe me, they are never notes of encouragement. What are they then? Honest attempts at constructive criticism?...

I have been thinking about how my understanding of my specific role as a pastor has changed through the years.Twenty years ago, in a small rural parish, my role was to provide comfort and counsel to people through the ministry of visitation. The first words my first...

Pastors write books all the time.Usually, these books are on the order of "how I did it and how you can do it too." They tell stories of phenomenal growth and influence and give readers a model they can implement for the same results in their churches.These books have...

This week I heard about a church that got "scammed" out of money by some persons posing as legitimate benevolent cases.It's a concern. Especially in the recession. Especially in our congregation, where we have been blessed beyond all expectation in the area of...

A couple of weeks ago, I posted on the Class Matters training seminar we hosted at Good Shepherd.Of all the statistics and anecdotes regarding the differences between those raised in chronic poverty and those raised in middle class comfort, this one has haunted me the...

If you're like me, you like things to run on schedule.Trains, planes, automobiles . . . and work weeks.In fact, I typically like to do the same things on the same days each week. So most weeks look a lot like the ones that came before and like the ones to follow.Maybe...

Last week provided an interesting case study in the rhythms of life in ministry.Monday-Wednesday: I spent the first half of the week at a conference for pastors of the largest United Methodist churches in the country. We stayed in luxury. We re-connected with old...