C.S. Lewis wrote, “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” As a pastor I felt pressured to make...
“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke...
Stress overload is the feeling that there are just not enough hours in the day to complete your work and care for the people who need your help. It’s an occupational hazard for lots of pastors. I remember that feeling of being hurried and pressured...
I’ve been in recovery for a while now… Not from drugs. No, I’m a recovering compulsive pastor. Compulsiveness is the irresistible need to set the agenda and to be in control. I’m not alone, there’s a lot of us out there. You just can’t spot...
We pastors are some of the worst when it comes to taking care of ourselves. Our position in the lives of others puts us at risk. While directing and caring for the souls of others we neglect our own. We exercise spiritual authority so much...
What is success? Well to most Americans it means being a winner. In the church-world that means being big, well known and influential. If you read church history using this American definition of success there’s never been a successful church. It’s always been counter-cultural oddity. Biblically,...
There’s a lot of talk in church circles about how to be a strong leader just take a stroll to any Christian bookstore. Much of this discussion, in my opinion is off track, taking its cues from the world of big business, using the latest...
We live in a consumer culture. We begin our training as consumers the moment we enter the world. People expect this. We’re programmed from infancy to look for the best deal for us—and if we don’t like it we dump it and buy another product...
This coming Sunday, November 22nd, I’ll be giving my last sermon as pastor of the North Brooklyn Vineyard (soon to be Vineyard One NYC). I’ve been in the ministry for forty-four years now, thirty-eight pastoring here in New York City. Truth be told, the last...
I was recently asked to sit with the core team of a young Vineyard church and help them think about how to develop leaders. They all agreed that leadership was a high calling and therefore should be taken seriously but they held differed on how...