My mum has always said, “We were called; they were drafted.”
Raised by full-time missionaries, my brothers and I grew up knowing that my parents had been called by God to the life we lived in Quito, Ecuador. I, however, certainly felt drafted! It was not my choice to leave my beloved grandparents in Canada for the mountains of Ecuador. I did not feel “called” to live in a house with bars on the windows, nor did I choose to endure earthquakes, military coups or tear gas drills at school. And I certainly did not feel “called” to live with lizards in my bed or scorpions in the bathroom!
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.png00Shari Lauhttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.pngShari Lau2023-04-27 23:42:142023-05-04 22:26:32Raising “drafted” kids on the mission field
Most of my memories from childhood involve waiting around an empty church. Since I was too young to be left at home, I would often be dragged there to sit around, probably playing Pokémon on the original grey brick Gameboy, while my dad prepared for a service or event.
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.png00Luke Campbellhttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.pngLuke Campbell2022-05-02 17:13:032022-05-02 17:13:03What pastors’ kids need from their parents
I’m what many in the church refer to as a “pastor’s wife.” I haven’t always been one. I gained this title or label almost nine years ago when my husband, David, accepted his first pastoral position as associate pastor of our church. Up until then, we both had careers but were very involved in lay ministry together.
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.png00Vicki Hooperhttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.pngVicki Hooper2022-02-02 20:10:332022-02-02 20:10:33Building a thriving marriage in the midst of ministry
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.png00Pauline Doerksenhttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.pngPauline Doerksen2021-12-01 18:36:162021-12-01 18:36:16What I learned from a Christmas tree
A few days ago, I enjoyed lunch out with a friend after a Sunday worship service. My friend is a pastor. She is a woman. She is also single. Not surprisingly, as we talked about our lives and friendship, elements of these three life circumstances – single, woman, in ministry – appeared again and again. Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about singles and ministry. Read more
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.png00Karin Gregoryhttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.pngKarin Gregory2019-05-27 18:35:412019-07-12 15:30:19Solo servant leadership: Single and in ministry
As wives, we do understand that there are inopportune moments when you will be needed. But, not everything is critical. Use discernment and wisdom. A prayer meeting can be postponed or even better, someone else can lead it when your son is in the final game of the season. Read more
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.png00Marilyn J. Carlawhttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.pngMarilyn J. Carlaw2019-05-25 00:02:322019-07-12 15:30:19A message to pastor husbands from a pastor’s wife
How to listen to your family, even when you don’t feel like it
“You never listen to me!” The words came choking out through Andrea’s tears. I suddenly felt off balance. What was happening here? I’d been Andrea’s dad for 15 years and a psychiatrist for eight. I was a professional listener trained in reading nonverbal signals, hearing between the lines, giving undivided attention and offering empathetic responses. Read more
At the end of a recent counselling session, a client told me that her pastor is on leave from the church ministry. I was thinking the pastor must be on some sort of medical leave, but my client further informed me that her pastor was involved in an affair with a ministry worker from another congregation. My heart sank when I heard the news, and I was angry because the evil one has once again successfully brought down a servant of God who appeared to have a vibrant ministry. Read more
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.png00Dr. Simon Shehhttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.pngDr. Simon Sheh2019-05-24 00:03:442019-07-12 15:30:47How to affair-proof your marriage and protect ministry relationships
The day of our ninth anniversary was a much-anticipated milestone. It had been almost three years since I had contacted Focus on the Family Canada for advice on how to stop my husband, Don, from looking at Internet porn. Read more
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.png00Anonymoushttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.pngAnonymous2019-05-23 23:52:372019-07-12 15:30:47Our battle for a porn-free marriage
As a pastor’s kid (PK), hitting my teenage years meant learning to live a dual life: my Christian life, which was pleasing to my parents and my church, and my high school life, which was pleasing to me. My greatest goal was, “May the two never meet.” Of course, neither life – one of hypocrisy and one of blatant sin – was pleasing to God. I did, however, emerge out of those troubling years and went on to follow Jesus Christ as Lord, become a pastor and eventually raise four PKs who live out a Biblical, Christian world view. I determined early on that, if at all possible, I would not repeat history with my kids. Read more
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.png00Stephen Johnsonhttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2023/03/FOCUS-40-banner_ClergyCare.pngStephen Johnson2019-05-23 21:34:542019-07-12 15:30:57Parenting with a biblical world view
