Can weddings, funerals and baptisms lead to burnout?

It depends on how you manage the expectation of being the officiant of all those ceremonies.

In this episode, we discuss how to set the expectations and manage the responsibility of weddings, funerals and baptisms - and any other rituals, ceremonies or sacraments you're expected to facilitate.

I would guess that when you signed up to be a pastor, the absolute LAST thing on your mind was that one day you'd be expected to manage HR at your church.

That you would effectively be a human resources director on top of being the spiritual shepherd and preacher of your church.

Nevertheless, the expectation to hire staff, fire staff, develop staff, and build a good workplace culture probably falls on you - if you haven't done something about that expecation.

In this episode, I'm going to give you a three part framework for how to manage the responsibility of HR in your church so that it doesn't take every last ounce of energy you have!

Your church needs money to operate.

Almost nothing happens without it.

And the expectation of raising enough funds for the church to meet its budget and fund special projects often falls squarely on you, the pastor.

How do you manage such an important responsibility?

In this episode, I'll give you a three part framework for fulfilling your role in your church's fundraising.

How do you handle the expectation of pastoral care in your church?

Too often the senior pastor takes on this burden nearly entirely.

This can become a massive drain on you - spiritually, emotionally and physically.

The people in your church have to be cared for, but it doesn't have to be you carrying that burden.

In this episode, I'll lay out a framework for making sure that everyone is taken care of without you losing yourself in the process.

When you signed up for ministry, did you know you'd be expected to function as a CEO?

Oh, and you need to give a keynote address to the whole organization every Sunday.

And, you better lead at a world class level.

And bring the right team around you.

And never let the church's attendance flatten or decline.

And make sure you, your spouse and kids all remain pillars of virtue through every challenge.

If you fail at any level as the CEO of the church, you will be replaced.

Nothing to it, right?

In this episode, we are examining the crippling expectation that pastors be the CEO of their church.

We will discover a way to deal with this expectation so that we can come out on the other end with our sanity intact.

Church attendance is in decline overall. But this is not just among those who have left the faith entirely.

Even those who are committed Christians are attending church less and less.

In an article on his website, Carey Nieuwhof explores why. In this episode, we'll dive into the ten reasons he gives for why church attendance is declining and what we can do about it in our churches.

Living things grow. If something isn’t growing, it’s dying. This is why a church that is not growing is a cause for concern. A church should be alive and one way to know if a church is alive is to look at the numbers.

Numbers aren’t everything, but numbers represent people and each person has a story and every story matters to God (I didn’t come up with that, but I love it).

Every church leader should be intentional about positioning their church for growth.

This is why I’ve pulled together my list of the best five books on church growth.

Each one of these books will give you strategies and actionable best-practices to help grow your church.

This week I attended the Exponential Conference in Orlando, FL. This is one of the largest church leadership conferences in the world with over 5,000 pastors and church leaders in attendance.

I observed some trends in the capital 'C' church that I found to be incredibly encouraging.

In this episode, I'm going to share those three observations with you and what we, as church leaders, can learn from them and apply to our own contexts.

Every church I've served has had multiple services, but no one ever took the time to explain best practices for maintaining energy levels while preaching all of them.

Maybe they thought everyone was born knowing this stuff?

Well, I am going to share so that there will be something in the world regarding this topic. ;)

In this episode, I'm going to share my 7-step survival guide to preaching multiple services.

Being a pastor is unlike just about any other profession. Because of the holistic nature of the work, we tend to take on “pastor” as an identity and not just a profession.

Add to that the spiritual component that we are not just providing a service to people, but showing them how life is supposed to be lived for God’s glory (no pressure).

Most people don’t quite know what to do with us because we seem like non-persons to them. They don’t understand us, but we really wish they did. We don’t feel any different than anyone else, and sometimes we feel like explaining ourselves, but most of the time we just live with it.

Pastor, I want to speak on your behalf today. I want to help you put into words what you might be feeling and wish people understood about you.

In this episode, I’m sharing from my thoughts and experiences of being a pastor for fifteen years and working with thousands of pastors here at Preaching Donkey. You may not relate to...