“The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.” (John 1:14, as paraphrased in The Message)
Christmas, for me, carries a wonderfully heightened sense of expectation. Childhood Christmases were marked by family memories, traditions, great food and quality time spent together.
“Who knows really what corrodes the soul to the point where it disintegrates?”
This quote is taken from Carey Nieuwhof’s latest book Didn’t See It Coming. In it, Nieuwhof describes the “seven greatest challenges that no one expects and everyone experiences.” The seven challenges are: cynicism, compromise, disconnection, irrelevance, pride, burnout and emptiness.
Our dear friend, H.B. London, who has now gone home to be with the Lord, initiated Clergy Appreciation Month through Focus on the Family many years ago.
Over the last while, Focus on the Family Canada’s Clergy Care counselling ministry has had more frequent calls on the topic of destructive or abusive relationships.
Goodbyes are difficult. Typically we prefer the joyous times of greeting, rather than experiencing the challenging emotions associated with leaving, even if the parting is graced with love and meaningful relationship. Leaving, it seems, is an occupational hazard for all clergy, ministers and missionaries, and seldom do we feel equipped to safely navigate the emotional whitewater rapids that accompany it. Read more
The last words that Jesus cried out before he took his last breath were, “It is finished” (John 19:30).
In 2017, ExPastors.com published the results of a pastoral survey they had done. They asked pastors two questions:
Do you feel overworked? Sixty-four per cent of pastors replied yes.
Do you feel you are unable to meet the demands of ministry? Eighty-six per cent of respondents answered yes.
On October 20, Josh and I drove out to East Braintree, MB, (what a fabulous vacation destination!) to spend seven days at a retreat centre.
The title of Lysa Terkeurst’s new book, It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, immediately caught my attention and I knew I would be adding it to my “must read” list. She asks, “What do you do when God’s timing seems questionable, his lack of intervention hurtful and his promises doubtful?” Read more
Peter Scazzero is best known for his work in regards to being a spiritually and emotionally healthy person, beginning with his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. As a young pastor, Scazzero was working from a place of giftedness and put in a lot of hard work, but soon found it was not all it was meant to be. At a certain point, he started to realize he was emotionally unhealthy. Read more