Recently, after eventful days at the church office, David and I have compared those events to the movie, Grand Hotel. Grand Hotel, which came out in 1932, is the movie in which Greta Garbo famously delivered the line, “I want to be alone.” The movie follows the activities of a number of people over just a few days. The movie ends with them leaving and new people entering … and the cycle starts all over again for the staff of the hotel.

Isn’t that just like life in a church? I’m not talking about people joining and leaving your congregation. I’m referring to issues or events happening—good or bad—that you, a church leader, need to have some sort of involvement with. Whether it’s a member that has a medical issue, two attendees that need peacemaking or an assistant that’s leaving staff since she’s getting married, the revolving door of events just keeps going round and round. And around.

And in the midst of keeping all those spinning plates going round, you, too, might be saying, “I want to be alone … on a quiet Caribbean beach!” Or perhaps you feel TOO alone, carrying much of the weight of the issues and events.

Know that you’re not the only one that experiences the unending cycle of events. We, at XPastor, can empathize and are here for you.

Because we understand what you’re going through …

  • … that’s why we provide free articles on our website—to encourage and educate you as you minister to your people.
  • … that’s why we provide education through the XPastor Online Courses—such as helping you consider the importance of putting funds in reserve to fully pay for a major HVAC overhaul.
  • … that’s why we provide the annual XP-Seminar—not only to educate but to provide you with networking possibilities, meeting fellow pastors that you can later correspond/pray with during those energy-zapping days.

The staff of the Grand Hotel provided just as excellent service to the newcomers as they did to the people that just left. Make sure that you take care of yourself so that you, too, can serve your people with excellence … and with the love of Christ.