What Is Your Purpose?

As with all illustrations, this does breakdown at some point, but this is an interesting way to understand purpose. Though not all are "paid" for their purpose, the aspiration to align these four broader categories in order to live in a purposeful way could be helpful.

Reflections on the Mars Hill Culture

As a former leader in Mars Hill Church Dave Kraft has some reflections here on what went wrong that lead to its recent demise and how we as pastors and planters can avoid some of these similar pitfalls in our leadership. Here's a good summary of his advice.

As l live my own life as a leader and as I coach other leaders, I am much more aware of doing what I can to make sure there is:

• Good and genuine accountability, coupled with vulnerability and transparency.
• A clear value in keeping short accounts, with sin being quickly confessed and owned.
• An attitude of being teachable and open to new ideas and ways of thinking.
• A culture of pacing that is realistic and sustainable, resulting in good morale and joy.

Did You Come Here to Die?

This article poses an interesting questions for planters to consider as they establish new churches. It's worth reading and pondering the whole article, but here's a quote.

It’s an intriguing exercise not only to ponder the answer, but to muse on why the Ghanaians would even ask the question. For them, did the credibility of the missionaries’ message depend on the willingness of the missionaries to give their whole life for its sake? It is a question that has pierced by heart, and agonised my soul, and pounded the treadmill of my mind more than any other. What if this was it? For life. All of it. Till death. What if the Lord asked me to give the whole of my life to model discipleship that perseveres until the very end?

Advice for Pastors

Here's some really good advice from Eugene Peterson to his seminary students. A small quote is below, but you should read the whole thing here.

“I’d tell them that pastoring is not a very glamorous job. It’s a very taking-out-the-laundry and changing-the-diapers kind of job. And I think I would try to disabuse them of any romantic ideas of what it is. As a pastor, you’ve got to be willing to take people as they are. And live with them where they are. And not impose your will on them. Because God has different ways of being with people, and you don’t always know what they are."