The warmth of God’s presence can be elusive. In his secret journal, Henri Nouwen is vulnerable about a dark season in which he couldn’t feel God’s love. He’d helped millions of other people around the world into a more tender and intimate experience with God, but he was in a Dark Night of the Soul.…
A friend of mine was quite late for his appointment with me. He finally arrived breathless as he explained to me that 24 hours in a day just wasn’t enough! He was trying so hard to be a good pastor but he just couldn’t accomplish all that his church required of him. Trying to meet…
To become our best personality, we need to become aware of our stress points and reactions. Join Bill and Kristi as they continue exploring the Enneagram and how spiritual disciplines can help us reconnect to God and tune in to the Spirit.
“My life is being poured out like a drink offering for you,” Paul wrote to a church he planted (Philippians 2:17, paraphrased). You know this feeling of emptying yourself if you minister to other people. I got a letter from Joe Chambers who pastors in Colorado. He’s been part of our Soul Shepherding community for…
Sometimes when you are in relationship with people and pouring into them, they have the power to hurt you, and it can feel like a betrayal. During times like this, it’s helpful to share with someone who can give you empathy and objectivity. Bill and Kristi share from their own experiences and their search for true joy during times of trial.
“As a senior pastor I was trying to be someone I was not,” writes Pete Scazzero. “I attended conferences and read books about growing a larger, healthier, more powerful church. If only I would be and do as their leaders, then our church would be equally large and prosperous.” Probably all of us in some…
In Dr. Bobby Clinton’s study of 3,500 leaders for Christ, it was found that only one-third of leaders finished well. Many drop out (usually due to burnout). Some have a moral failing. The majority plateau (fade into a slow fail). In the Bible this same pattern holds true. Out of 49 leaders featured in the Bible, only 13 of…
At a coffee meeting, Pastor Sean lamented to me, “Another key leader left my church. I’ll probably never see him again.” “Why do you say that?” I asked. “I’ve been through this before. I can tell by the way he left. He just told me, ‘It’s time for us to move on.’ He wouldn’t elaborate.” “How…
My former pastor Bill Hybels did not learn how to fall safely. We all fall down in life, but have we learned to fall safely? When pastors and leaders for Christ fall unsafely it hurts them, their families, and the people they serve. As a mega church pastor with worldwide influence, Bill Hybels’ recent fall…
For most of my life until about age 40 I struggled with anxiety. Almost nobody knew it because I hid it and because much of the time I was listening to them talk. But, inside my mind circled with worries, my stomach churned, and my bowels were irritated. Others did notice that I was really serious…