Join us for an enlightening webinar where we will explore practical ways to reduce stress and increase resilience in our daily and ministry lives. Discover how combining wisdom from the Bible with insights […]
The fall of a leader is one of the greatest financial risks for a church. I’m not referring simply to headline-grabbing moral failures. Certainly, a breach of trust of that magnitude does tend to have […]
ECFA wants to see leader care climb to a new level, resulting in healthier pastors and in church boards that are more engaged with their pastor’s total wellbeing. Far too many pastors today […]
Most of us pastors and the majority of the people who sit in our pews think the secret to being happy is to finally get the circumstances we want from our life. For you […]
I’m no stranger to disillusionment in ministry. For 47 years I’ve served the Lord in a variety of roles: church staff member, seminar leader, Christian university professor, and writer. Not every position has panned out […]
Recent research indicates that high level marital satisfaction is insufficient to keep a marriage healthy by itself. Generations of broken families make it extremely difficult to practice what one has never seen up […]
Let’s talk about how Christian leaders can model, practice and teach the principles of relational wisdom. This is a gospel-based form of emotional intelligence, biblical peacemaking and Christian conciliation. You can do this […]
Updated April 4, 2022 with a QR code.
Gregory Love and Kimberlee Norris have produced a free resource for Easter. Greg says, the app goes viral every year around this time as churches use it to […]
Chances are, your pastor is exhausted. Here are the surprising reasons why.
There’s something that church leaders need to know. If you serve on a church board or leadership council, please lean in. Pastor, if you’re […]
Questions are powerful—sometimes more powerful than we acknowledge. Unaware of how to use questions well, leaders unnecessarily bring uncertainty into their group discussions. Now, more than ever, stakes can be knowingly and unknowingly high in […]
When we think about leadership, we don’t always think about peace. If you’ve observed a skillful and thoughtful leader, you know that their relationships are marked by peacefulness. I’m not suggesting that these leaders don’t […]
Even though more than 90% of pastors say groups are the primary vehicle for discipleship in their church, anyone who’s been around church small groups know that groups can be hit or miss. […]
What makes this video of high value is that it is between an Asian American and and African American. This gives good insights into the care that we all must take to root […]
Four church leaders explore race relations in the church and society. Fletch and Mike Gould will be joined by XPs Nicholas Smith and Tim Samuel. First we listened to Nick and Tim share perspectives […]
Our youth and children’s ministers recently said, “This is one of the most spiritually transformational events that we do.” We were discussing a camp for elementary age kids where our youth serve as counselors. It […]
Every church wants their people to be as involved as possible. No one wants a church of people on the sidelines. So, why isn’t better engagement happening more often?
Hey Fletch … I’m new to dealing with church relationships. Sitting in the Director of Finance chair, I receive calls from disturbed congregants. I struggle […]
I recently had the pleasure to interview Tom Harper, CEO of Networld Media Group and publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com.
Tom recently released Through Colored Glasses: How Great Leaders Reveal Reality which addresses a leadership challenge identified […]
When people in your congregation personally experience a spiritually transformed life and see it in others, they are encouraged and inspired. Stories of life change represent the power of the gospel, and those stories need to […]
Friday, April 6, 2018
Hey Fletch … You know, there’s a lot of material for counseling marriages. There is little out there that I’m aware of for counseling for pastors who take the shots and still have […]
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Hey Fletch … This one is rather personal. Your column is a safe place for me to ask it. I have been gaining weight. Often I am at breakfast and lunch meetings, […]
Driving 80 miles per hour in a Soapbox Racer is absurd. You will quickly crash. Accelerate your Soapbox Racer from 10 mph up to 30 mph. You will rejoice at going 30 mph. But your main […]
Monday, February 19, 2018
Hey Fletch … I’m on the other side of the international date line from you, but church issues are the same the world over. We had a Narcissist on our staff and […]
February 7, 2018
Hey Fletch … I’m a hurtin’ puppy in Oklahoma right now. Got my tail between my legs. A fellow pastor on staff came into my office and said, “You are not a Pastor. […]
January 31, 2018
Hey David … This one is personal and hard to write. I just got an email that seems to say that I wasn’t on a project any longer. I’m totally shocked. I thought […]
I was a young 20-something, eager to get ahead, and interviewing for a promotion to Project Manager. My boss at the time gave me this little bit of wisdom as she described the role, “You’ll […]
It’s easier for Interim Pastors to juggle live hand grenades, and less dangerous, than to juggle political causes and the local church’s mission. There’s no way to win at that game today. If a hand grenade explodes, there’s […]
The preacher’s job is to get people to see themselves in the mirror of God’s Word (James 1:22-25). But this can become a tough challenge for interim pastors. The developmental tasks before the church shapes […]
Pastors fall. Sometimes quietly, sometimes on public display—pastors fall. As one who has helped pastors and congregations deal with the aftermath of such falls, Paul David Tripp […]
Some of you Executive Pastors have never done a funeral and might need some ideas. Here is an article with a touching story, a great example of the type of story to share during a […]
Years ago I was the pastor of a small rural church. We had two adult Sunday School classes that we referred to as the Older Adult Class and the Younger Adult Class. When I use […]
The last place you want to be on a Sunday morning is standing in front of a congregation to preach. Not only is preaching someone else’s job, it’s probably not your best strength. Yet, Christ […]
XPastor tries to help churches by providing some of the essentials for running a church—items like job descriptions, employment applications, review forms and policies. Below is the 2010 Care Ministries Strategy, and Process from Southside […]
XPastor tries to help churches by providing some of the essentials for running a church—items like job descriptions, employment applications, review forms and policies. Below is the Benevolence Policy of Apostles Church of New York, […]
I don’t remember much about the ordination paper I authored some twenty years ago, but I do remember employing a central analogy to illustrate the role and work of the pastor: the conductor of an […]
Working with people is very rewarding but difficult at the same time. Dealing with different personalities, backgrounds and methods can be tiresome. In a business where individuals coming to Christ and being disciples are the […]
Eulogy’s are often times the most difficult sermons. The struggle over what to say and how to say it can be quite burdensome. I remember feeling very uncomfortable teaching a message for a very tragic […]
This article may be somewhat controversial to some. My hope is that this can begin a healthy discussion on the process of how to restore someone back from failure. Being a pastor, I deal with mistakes […]
We had a Nehemiah event at our church several weeks ago. No, we didn’t rebuild any walls. We did something more enduring with far more impact. We read Scripture aloud for three hours. It was […]
XPastor recommends readers take special note of the resources provided by Watermark about the issue of Care and Correction. These resources are found in Appendix V and Appendix VI at the end of this case study and […]
XPastor recommends readers take special note of the resources provided by Watermark about the issue of Care and Correction. These resources are found in Appendix V and Appendix VI at the end of this case study and […]
Nothing pains like divorce … especially when children are involved. While divorce is a family matter, it can spill into the workplace through child custody disputes. This can be quite challenging for leaders who must […]
I never thought I’d be talking to a counselor with my Senior Pastor, but there I was. We sat at ninety-degree angles from each other, facing a kind, older gentleman who was a stranger to […]
As I quickly evaluated my life, I suddenly realized I knew no one outside my church. I thought about a typical day: gas at a self-service pump, a few groceries bought at the self-checkout lane […]
You lay down in bed to read a bit before going to sleep when the phone rings. You freeze momentarily as your stomach tightens. A quick glance at the clock reminds you it’s after eleven. […]
Ministry is about people. Loving them. Equipping and encouraging them. Getting close to them. Not an easy job with 75 people, let alone 175 or 500 or 1,000. In watching pastors who want to touch people […]
