Alongside Ministries

04/29/2025

Grieving the little losses

Alongside Ministries - Helping Christian Leaders be healthy and effective for the long haul.

01/13/2025

Alignment of Rhythms - Are you a good steward of..YOU?!?!?!

In ministry, alignment matters. Misaligned wheels—Calling, Rhythms, Values, Expectations—create strain and lead to burnout. This series in The Long Haul helps you reflect on each area to sustain a healthy, fruitful ministry. This issue focuses on Rhythms.

Alignment of Rhythms

Idea:
Healthy ministry leaders maintain rhythms that nurture their spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and relational health. Without intentional practices, exhaustion and burnout are inevitable. This is a stewardship issue!

Quote:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” – Romans 12:2

Coaching Questions:

What practices currently sustain your spiritual, emotional, and relational health?
Which rhythms feel life-giving, and which feel unsustainable?
What might God be inviting you to add, change, or release in your routines?

Practical Tip:
Establish a “rule of life.” Write down daily, weekly, and seasonal habits that renew you in each area (e.g., daily prayer, weekly sabbath, quarterly retreats). Review it monthly to stay on track.

01/13/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BXxjp4HzJ/

12/16/2024

Subject: Invitation to Join "Pastormind" – Beta Test This January

A while back, I surveyed a few Facebook Pastor groups about the idea of a "Pastormind" online group, and quite a few of you either expressed interest or curiosity. I’m excited to beta test the group this January!

Here’s what you can expect:
- Monthly Zoom meetings (guaranteed to be no more than 90 minutes—because we all know pastors can talk!)
- Relevant, practical topics that you'll know in advance, so you can come prepared with thoughts and questions
- A moderated discussion to keep things focused (no wild-west free-for-alls like some Facebook groups)
- Actionable discussions focused on your health and effectiveness as a pastor, not divisive theological debates

The goal is simple: foster meaningful relationships and have focused discussions that help you thrive in your ministry.

If you're interested, I’d love to have you try it once and give feedback.

If you are up for giving it a whirl please sen me your email (or preferred form of contact) and 2-3 time slots that would work for you? I know pastors have varying schedules—some can only do evenings, others prefer mornings, etc. I expect we may have multiple groups based on availability.

If you’re not interested, no worries—just let me know so I won’t bug you. Or, if you’re not sure but want to be kept in the loop, let me know that too! 🙂

12/12/2024

The Four Wheels of Alignment

Imagine driving a car with its wheels out of alignment. At first, it’s subtle—maybe the steering pulls slightly to one side. But over time, that small misalignment can cause uneven wear on the tires, reduce fuel efficiency, and make driving unsafe.
Alignment isn’t glamorous, but neglecting it leads to costly and dangerous consequences.

Ministry leadership is much the same. Staying aligned in key areas isn’t always urgent, but when we ignore it, we risk burnout, frustration, and even derailment. Through my work coaching ministry leaders, I’ve identified four critical areas of alignment that help keep leaders healthy and effective for the long haul:

1. Calling: Are your daily practices aligned with your God-given gifts and calling?

2. Rhythms: Do your habits nurture your spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and relational health?

3. Values: Are your personal values in harmony with the ministry or organization you serve?

4. Expectations: Are you clear on the expectations of God, others, and yourself—and are they realistic?

Each of these areas is like a wheel on your car. When one is misaligned, your journey becomes harder, and the longer you drive that way, the more wear and tear it causes.

Over the next several issues of The Long Haul, we’ll explore each “wheel” of alignment, helping you reflect on where you might need a tune-up and providing tools to maintain a smoother, healthier ride in ministry.

Coaching Question:

- As you think about these four areas, which “wheel” feels most out of alignment right now?

Care to subscribe?
https://long-haul.epistle.org/subscribe
Practical Tip:

Draw your own “car alignment” diagram. Label each wheel with one of the four areas—Calling, Rhythms, Values, Expectations—and rate your alignment in each area on a scale of 1 to 10. Reflect on what adjustments might be needed to restore balance.

11/01/2024

Ending world hunger would require significant financial resources. According to estimates from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), an annual investment of around $267 billion is needed to achieve Zero Hunger by 203O.

Seems like an insurmountable figure until you realize that Last year's holiday season sales totaled approximately $936.3 billion. So by my estimation if everyone spent around a quarter less on the holidays (none of which is spent on anything NEEDED) and donated that toward ending hunger it could be irradicated in 6 years.

What if some of us giving up some of what we don't need meant all of us getting all of something we do need for the first time in history?

10/23/2024

Honored to participate in this online summit helping families dealing with addiction!

Free 3 day online virtual event bringing together leading authors, podcasters, experts, and influencers in the recovery and faith community. This summit will explore the impact of addiction on families and provide spiritual support, practical strategies, and hope for those navigating this challengin...

09/06/2024

Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh — who sold only one painting during his life — on self-worth:

"If I am worth anything later, I am worth something now. For wheat is wheat, even if people think it is a grass in the beginning."

Don't focus on your current results, work toward an eternal legacy.

08/18/2024

A prayer for my tribe this morning:
Father, thank You for Your beautiful, multicultural, intergenerational family, gathering today in so many countries. Forgive us our many failings, heal our deep divisions, and make us one. Let strangers be welcomed in Your house today. May sinners sense amazing grace. Let preachers and worship leaders step out of the limelight into the twilight to fix the spotlight of their words entirely upon You.
Amen

06/19/2023

https://www.barna.com/research/rest-sabbath/

This article shares findings on pastoral well-being and satisfaction, interspersed with insights and application from Resilient Pastor faculty and guests.

04/04/2023

I love what I do. I love coming alongside Pastors, missionaries, and Christian Leaders.

I love encouraging them.
I love praying for and with them.
I love brainstorming with them.
I love helping them deal with sin in their lives and find freedom.
I love helping them heal from their woundedness whether self inflicted or other inflicted.
I love helping them have aha moments.
I love helping them thing creatively and strategically.
I love helping them get unstuck.
I love seeing them refreshed.
I (we actually)love hosting them for retreats and sabbaticals.
I love investing in them and seeing them increase in fruitfulness.
I love making them laugh and letting them cry, cuss or vent if they need to.
I love that I can lovingly challenge them when they need it.
I love helping them focus on possibilities rather than barriers.
I love helping them get closer to God.
I love blessing their congregations with the progress they get to enjoy in their leaders lives.
I love that God actually uses a regular guy like me to do this stuff.
I love that we get to offer all this by donation so nobody ever "can't afford it"

I love that folks like you help that happen through your prayers, encouragement and giving.

Thank you for being "Alongsiders" alongside us. I love our ministry partners!

03/16/2023

https://fullstrength.org/3-reasons-to-waste-time/

3 Reasons Pastors Should Waste More Time Emotional What do you consider a waste of time? It’s worth asking yourself. It’s also very telling when it comes to receiving and experiencing true rest. As a culture, we place great value on our productivity, innovation, and checklists. And while we are ...