Recently in Monday Morning Encouragement Category

Failure seems to be the last thing we're willing to talk about in ministry. We'll talk about staff issues, attendance, building campaigns, missions committees, elder board meetings, budget issues and denominational meetings. But not failure.

Leading people is tiring. If you've ever been in a position of influence, I'm sure you'd agree. At times, it is stressful, lonely, and people are exposed to your flaws continuously. It's kind of like the old African proverb says: "It is the monkey that climbs the tree the highest, where everyone sees his rear." So true.

It's such a common question. It's the perennial question that pastors ask one another whenever we assemble. It's the ministerial equivalent of "How about this weather we're having?"

Something happened to me in my early 40s that confused me. The church was growing by 20 percent or more each year, and we were building buildings, adding staff, and the requests to speak and teach outside of our church were increasing. I was invited to lead the preaching department at Bethel Theological Seminary as a permanent part-time professor; I couldn't have scripted my life any better. Everything I was doing seemed to fit who I was. But about two years into it, I was miserable.

Prayer is not a monologue where one person does all the talking, or a ritual where we must say things in the right order, or a chore to get out of the way like brushing our teeth before going to bed.

Do you have a vision for your life? 

The pastor saw me walking in the hallway of the church yesterday, and he quickly stopped me for a brief chat. I knew something was wrong. He told me that his elderly father was sick, and that he was worried. Struggling to hold back tears, he said, "I'm still an eight-year-old little boy when I think of my dad. I would do anything for him."