How Do We Help Christians Lose the Hate? Without Beating Them Up About It Let’s be honest—some days, it feels like “Christian” has become a brand associated more with judgment than with Jesus. Maybe you’re feeling a bit like the sentiment “I love Jesus, but I struggle with his followers” is often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi. Or as it’s more  commonly phrased, “I like your Jesus, I do not like your Christians”. Some have said that Gandhi expressed this sentiment and maybe you’ve felt that too—grieving the gap between the radical love of Christ and the way some of his people behave. So how do we help bridge that gap? How do we help Christians lose the hate, rediscover compassion, and become more Christ-like—without shaming The rest of the story

There recently has been a wild fire near me in Boiling Spring Lakes, about 30 miles by road and less “as the crow flies” to my southeast. In a recent news story, they reported that the fire was contained 10% but said ““The fire is in an area which has a lot of organic soil, which means there is vegetation in the soil that can burn. A lot of times in this particular area around Boiling Spring Lakes, that vegetation has a tendency to hold fire in the root system and underneath the ground. So the coming days will really show whether or not the fire is working underground; it has a tendency to pop up in other areas.” WECT And I became fascinated with The rest of the story

Last week I wrote a blog post – on pastor burnout, on Pastoring Yourself – in Part I, I named the hard truth: pastors are burning out, bleeding out, and bowing out at staggering rates. I think you all know what I  named – the grind of ministry, the pressure of performance, the competition where there should be collegiality, and the crushing weight of systems like the United Methodist one-year appointment cycle. I made the case for why self-pastoring isn’t just important—it’s essential. But now, let’s move from the “why” to the “how” with a little more imagination. Because let’s be honest: we’ve all heard the usual advice I named in the previous post. Take a Sabbath. Go to therapy. Drink water. These are good The rest of the story

I read this stat the other day “The best and most conservative estimate is that 30% of those who go into ministry are not in ministry 5 years after they begin, and an even greater percentage will not end their vocational career in pastoral ministry.” Let that sink in…. I’ll wait. I can’t quite stop thinking about it. I also feel it. This is a hard job! And while I would like to think this is just some sensationalist stat tossed around to scare seminary students. It’s a sobering truth. A truth many of us in ministry know not just from data, but from watching our friends and colleagues quietly slip away from pulpits and parish life. Some leave with a bang; many more leave The rest of the story