This week has been a whirlwind of activity. Yesterday, I perused a stack of resumes for a office position we’re hoping to fill in the coming 2 weeks. Today, I spent the whole day–locked in a room full of white boards, coffee, and ministry staff–drafting next year’s intentional plan. It was productive and helpful. It…
I’m only three days into my new ministry role and I’m starting to wonder why church leadership looks a lot more like a wrestling match (where the goal is forcing others into submission) rather than the stuff Jesus talked about (for example, loving God and loving our neighbours)? I don’t think we should stop using…
Right now, part of my calling is to mentor emerging leaders. It seems strange since I always assumed that offering guidance to younger people would come when I was much older, at least after I turned thirty-five. Instead, I’ve been watching a few twenty-somethings hovering around wondering if I might be able to invest a…
Erika and I are sharing “Ten lessons in ten years” with the 55+ group at our church tomorrow. We’ll be telling stories from the first decade of our life together. Here’s #3: Don’t wait for the perfect time. The first few verses of Ecclesiastes 11 talk about not waiting until the right circumstances before planting,…
It feels like our church is losing staff members at a record rate. Four pastors/directors (plus another one this June) and two support staff in three years. They’ve either stepped down or moved on to something else. I find it hard to say good-bye to people who have mentored, supported, and shared the same wild…
An older, church-going friend of mine has been bugging me to get my hands on a copy of The Shack for months. So, I finally set some time aside and read it this week. Although I would have taken a slightly different angle, William Young illuminated some of life’s greatest mysteries–from horrendous human loss to…
Bad news. My Christian Worship through the Centuries class was supposed to spend Friday morning at Christ the Saviour Antiochian Orthodox church in Waterloo. The priest was going to spend some time filling us in about the liturgy and worship practices of the ancient Eastern church. Unfortunately, the he landed some last minute hockey tickets…
A former student in my Owen Sound youth ministry recently queried me about knowing God’s will. He is finishing university and is thinking about going overseas. The possibility of entering a new culture is a huge decision and he’s not sure what to do. Here’s what I told him: 1. Ask God. It’s so obvious:…
The latest edition of Leadership Journal arrived in my mailbox yesterday. In an article called “What’s Changing, What’s Not”, Dave Travis writes: “Senior pastors under 40 who are leading large churches all use social media… This is a radical shift in how we understand leadership. Fifteen years ago, pastors were wondering how they could be…
This past Sunday people in our three church services heard some big news. First, our interim lead pastor announced his June 30th retirement from pastoral ministry. He has been ministering at HMC for 19 years. Second, our ministry council chairperson announced that I will be assuming the position of interim lead pastor effective March 1st….