To become a confident communicator, you would be wise to accept the following statements:
Your presentation style is directly influenced by your temperament and personality. Read more
Our society and its view of sexuality has rapidly changed in the past 50 years. We live in a country that is struggling to determine the legal definition of marriage. Parents are wondering how to explain to their children why a playmate has two mommies or two daddies. Prime-time television shows feature homosexual characters. God’s plan for sexuality is no longer the prevailing world view. The church is being challenged and pastors are being called to answer questions. Pastors cannot escape the question of how to deal with homosexuality within God’s framework. Read more
“One of the first steps leaders can take to develop a safe environment in the midst of change is to recognize the value that conflict holds for them.” – Rendle, G. R
The tendency towards forced termination of church leaders is epidemic in North American. Ken Sande (2003) declared that all the reasons for forced exits can be summarized in one word: conflict. Read more
We have an unofficial open door policy at work. One day, excited about a project idea, I went to my supervisor’s office only to find her door closed. Dejected, I returned to my office thinking, I don’t want to share Mommy with anybody else. What? I suddenly asked myself. Share who? Mommy? I laughed out loud! Here I go again, I thought, turning my boss into my mother!
My reaction is a common phenomenon known in psychology as transference. Read more
“When it stops being fun, find another sport.” That was the advice my wife and I gave our two sons when they played hockey. They looked at us with incredulity when we first gave them this advice. They couldn’t fathom not enjoying hockey. In fact, our words of caution were almost offensive to them. But as time went on, we could see their interest in playing hockey begin to wane. Read more
You can occasionally mention Christ-like “purity” in your sermons. You can very carefully, in the most gentle manner possible, say the four letter word “PORN”, but please make sure you come up with words that sound like PORN, such as “born” or “torn” so that you can play dumb when approached after the service. Read more
Pornography is often in our top ten list of call topics to our counselling line. There was a time when we mostly heard from women who had discovered their husbands were using pornography. Occasionally, we would hear from men who wanted to overcome their entrapment, but increasingly now we are hearing from parents who are finding their children not only exposed but in many cases already addicted as teenagers! In order to help you tackle this issue in your church, we have a resource we believe could greatly benefit families. Read more
When you create a fresh start or begin a new routine, do you like to be in control of when and how it happens? Or would you prefer being forced to change due to some outside pressure?
For most of us, I’m sure we’d rather be in control. But why do we so often wait until a crisis arises before we admit that change is necessary? Read more
“Is it time for me to leave my church?” Many pastors find themselves asking this question. The challenge is to make the decision based on solid Spirit-led discernment, not short-sighted impulse thinking. Read more
By its very nature, ministry is people-intensive work. Some of the people we encounter, occasionally or regularly, will be dealing with significant mental health issues. Sometimes we will encounter these individuals in our own homes, and sometimes they will be us! Since most pastors are not professional counsellors, it might be helpful to know a few things about some of the common or stressful mental health conditions you may find yourself dealing with. Read more