Listen to this episode of Soul Talks: Denying our emotions leaves us functioning inauthentically and can ultimately lead to burnout. Serving God with wholeness and health includes paying attention to our emotions. In this episode, hear from Bill and Kristi and the stories of others of how discovering deeper emotions allows God to heal and…
Listen to this episode of Soul Talks: We would appreciate your feedback! Please take a moment to fill out our survey here. A hidden contributor to burnout is internalizing stress. As leaders, we offer God’s grace through our presence in others’ lives as we listen and offer empathy from a non-anxious place. We increase…
“I feel so distant from God,” Rev. Howard-John Wesley admitted recently. “One of the greatest mistakes of pastoring is to think that because you work for God, you’re close to God.” If you’re a pastor or ministry leader I’m especially writing to you. But whatever your work is and however you serve God, you too…
“I was burned out and didn’t know it,” lead pastor Ken Baugh recalls. It happens to so many pastors and other leaders and caregivers—but it doesn’t have to be your story. “I was so depleted of my own energy that I had just enough to get from weekend to weekend… I came to the point…
For your work or ministry to be most effective you need to experience satisfaction in Christ as you do it. We’re designed to live in the Psalm 23 journey in which we testify happily, “My cup overflows!” Dallas Willard showed us this. Kristi and I are so thankful for the spiritual mentor and friend that…
What do you feel after you put yourself out there to minister to others? Many people struggle with self-doubt or self-criticism. Pastors may wonder if they preached a good sermon. Small group leaders may question their effectiveness. Counselors and caregivers feel might feel unsure they said the right thing. Anyone who serves others is likely…
“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…
“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…
If you’re caring for people that have been traumatized or are in crisis then you’re suffering with them vicariously. If you’re a pastor, you probably think you live in a nice city, but actually you’re in a spiritual and emotional war zone! Just being a tender-hearted person in our world today exposes you to vicarious…
What’s God doing when hurricane’s hit? How do we deal with hardships? We go to Jesus together. We validate the emotions and offer empathy. We may need to re-think our perspective and faith and do some training to learn how to live and react to trials from within the spiritual reality of the Kingdom of God.