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Wellness Journey Update

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  In early April 2020, I decided to take better care of my health. Actually, the decision was made on January 1st, 2020. It just took me time and a month of lockdown in my basement to get me to do something about it. My focus was to care for myself physically, emotionally/mentally, and spiritually. In the first year of the journey, I saw some significant changes. I dropped nearly 60 pounds of weight, reduced back pain, and began sleeping through the night for the first time in my adult life! I also did some great work with my Christian therapist to strengthen my mental health. I began deepening my walk with Christ through strengthening devotions and intentional mentoring. As I experienced these blessings, my hope was to pass along these blessings to others. I became certified as a DDPY Fitness Level 1 Instructor and a FastTrack coach.  While there were blessings, there were also challenges. Particularly in the area of whether my involvement in particular exercise programs was ...
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Sabbatical Planning

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  I'm BACK!! What a season of ministry this has been! Over the past year, I have talked with many leaders from churches, para-church ministries, and businesses, and many say the same thing: "I'm still recovering from the craziness of the pandemic four years later!" Does this resonate with you? It definitely has for me! While this past year has seen some INCREDIBLE moves of God and great blessings, it was also filled with many challenges, divisions, spiritual attacks, and a lot of weariness. Thankfully, God has given us many spiritual disciplines to help us overcome this weariness in our souls: Sabbath and Sabbatical. In October 2023 the craziness of the pandemic in the life of our church and family finally caught up to me. I was tired. More tired than I had ever been. Every decision in my role at the church felt heavy and filled with doubt. While my spiritual life was deep and I felt very close to God, a nagging voice would speak into my thoughts that it was time to t...
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Revitalized Pastors and Leaders

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On March 15, 2023, the Barna Research Group released the "The Resilient Pastor Initiative". Its goal was to explore and share the state of pastors in America in the post-COVID climate we find ourselves in. According to the data, the state of pastors may not be as good as it appears from behind the pulpit. From 2015 to 2022 Barna notes the following where pastors responded "Excellent" in a number of categories: Spiritual well-being dropped from 37% to 14% Physical well-being fell from 24% to 9% Mental and emotional health plummeted from 39% to 11% The overall quality of life dipped from 42% to 18% The level of respect they felt from the community tanked from 22% to 10% Level of ‘true friends’ dropped by 50% from 34% to 17% The data also showed that this drop in wellness was more prevalent in younger pastors! Older pastors are riding it out to retirement. Now, before anyone from my church begins to panic, I'm OK. As shared in a blog post from January 2023 entitled...
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Regroup. Refocus. Relaunch.

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  It's a vast understatement to say that the past few years have been hard. In February 2020 I lost my step-mom to an ugly battle with cancer. March 2020 saw the beginning of lockdowns and scrambling like crazy to figure out how to still be a church without meeting in person. Then in December, I had to put my dog, Paisley, down due to illness. 2020 sucked! Then 2021 hit. The gaps in leadership development and discipleship in the church began to show. Long-standing members of churches disappeared as they headed off to a church more in line with the pandemic response. Relationships crumbled over politics and theological differences. The realization that we're never going back to "normal" in ministry became a clear reality. I also turned 50 and I realized I needed to change how I take care of myself. 2021 was hard! 2022 started by feeling more hope-filled. While gatherings were regularly back to in-person noticing who is no longer with you hurt. Tiredness has become the ...
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Emotional Wellness

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I have something to admit. I stuggle. I struggle with my self-worth. I struggle with feeling joyful. I struggle with negative self-talk. I struggle with having fun. And that's really just naming a few of the things that I have found myself struggling with over the past few years. I read a recent article from the Barna Research Group that shared that 38% of pastors have given SERIOUS consideration of leaving ministry over the past couple of years.  Honestly, I've been one of them. This is not a pity party. This is not to make anyone feel guilty. It's just what it is. Ministry and life, in general, have been challenging over the past two years. It makes perfect sense that many leaders are seriously looking for an emergency exit! What kept me from doing something drastic? I have taken my emotional health very seriously long before the pandemic started! You will not realize that you are emotionally unhealthy until you reach a point that you can't manage anymore. In the lat...
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The Journey of Wellness

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Today is a new day. I'm back at my office. I haven't worked from here in two years. I have spent the last two full years working from home during the week and only using my office quickly on Sunday morning before services. All my staff meetings, pastoral meetings, leadership meetings for the past two years have been either online or at my house. I gotta admit... it's kinda strange being back here! This was my regular routine for nearly 10 years as I have served here at my church. Hard to believe this September it will be 12 years that I have been here in this role. And for 2 of those nearly 12 years, I've been working from home, sitting at a small desk in my basement. And I learned a lot over the past two years! I've learned about the importance of our journey of wellness. In order to live the life that I envision for myself and my family (and my church!) I needed to make several shifts in my lifestyle. I had to see myself on a journey of improving my wellness in th...
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Influence - A New Journey

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  I have been thinking about INFLUENCE for quite some time. As a pastor, I met so many people who are struggling in life because of the negative influence they have received. Maybe it was when they were a child, maybe it was a bad marriage, whatever caused the pain, the influence it has on the person's life has a profound impact. I also met people who have had an incredibly positive influence on their life! A parent, youth pastor, teacher, or friend are just some of the examples of stories I have heard of individuals who played a huge part in someone's life and journey. Not only do people have an influence on us, but we also have an influence on others! It can be positive and it can be negative. The question each of us has to ask is do I want to have even more of a positive influence on the people around me? I hope for you that the answer is YES! In order to do so, we each need to battle against the negative influences of the world. Whether it's something in us that needs t...
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