March 13, 2026
Mike Edmisten shares how years of ministry left him isolated from other pastors—and how introversion, busyness, and insecurity fed the problem. His warning becomes an invitation to pursue life-giving ministry friendships and shared burdens.
March 13, 2026
Kent Fillinger uses superhero teams to encourage pastors not to serve in isolation. He highlights rising pastoral loneliness and offers practical ways solo ministers can find support, accountability, and encouragement through trusted ministry relationships.
January 1, 2024
By Jerry Harris All church leaders are dealing with stress right now. Stress can come from every area of our lives. You might be under pressure, facing big changes, feeling a lack of control, shouldering heavy responsibility, or feeling uncertain about the future. You might be facing multiple issues simultaneously or feeling the effects of past experiences. Your stress might be triggered by illness, injury, parenting, infertility, bereavement, abuse, marriage, divorce, relationships, or caregiving. You might have lost your job, or be seeking a new job, or just started in a new role. Perhaps you retired recently. You might be
Pastors in Restoration Movement churches quit at an alarming rate. According to research from the Christian Church Leadership Network, 70 percent of Bible college graduates in the Restoration Movement leave pastoral ministry within the first 10 years.* That means 7 out of 10 current Bible college students called to pastoral ministry in this movement probably will not last a decade. How might we better develop and grow healthy leaders? In what ways might we support the leaders we already have so they last a lifetime in ministry? The future of our movement and the health of our churches is at
By Jim Tune Many debate the level of vulnerability preachers should exercise from the pulpit. If you share too much, you risk sounding self-absorbed. If you never share any personal stories, you may appear inauthentic or aloof. My experience is that most audiences embrace people who are willing to share their story, particularly those parts that reveal the preacher as an imperfect person, with whom others can identify. To be clear, I”m not suggesting this as an “approach” to preaching. Nor should it be considered a public speaking “method.” If vulnerability in the pulpit is contrived, a perceptive congregation will
October 24, 2007
By Mark A. Taylor “I feel like I got my husband back.” This testimony came from the wife of a fellow who had served many years in local church ministry before joining the staff of a Christian publishing house. He does not work at Standard Publishing; you wouldn”t recognize his name. But his situation is unfortunately familiar to many ministers you know. Several years ago, George Barna said churchgoers “expect their pastor to juggle an average of 16 major tasks. That”s a recipe for failure.” And even without such unreasonable expectations, local church ministry can be more demanding than many
October 25, 2006
True friendship is rare—especially for Christian leaders who feel pressure to appear perfect. Mark A. Taylor reflects on Proverbs 27 and the gift of honest counsel, trust, and encouragement among God’s people.
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April 28, 2026
Rick Cherok
April 28, 2026
David Faust
April 28, 2026
Rick Cherok