Coaching For Pastors - Daily Coaching, Encouragement, and Support for Pastors

I remember hearing John Maxwell say, years ago... "in ministry, you have to lead like you don't have to survive. You don't have to survive." I would say, in ministry, you may survive, but you won't get away unscathed. There will always be enough hurt to go around in ministry. And, that's okay! Even though people will do us dirty, that's okay, we can just make pre...

Jeff shares an excerpt from Dana Candler's book, First Love - Keeping Passion For Jesus In A World Growing Cold, and applies it to you, Pastor. Imagine, pastors getting to eat from the food prepared by them for the people!? Candler writes about her encounter with God, and challenges people to actually believe what God says about himself and our relationship with him, and Jeff applies this to...

Jeff wraps up a week on preaching with a conversation about preaching, with the founder of Grow A Healthy Church, John Finkelde . John coaches pastors on their preaching, among many other ways he coaches and consults with pastors and church leadership teams. John wrote a book called Preaching In A Whatever World , that we reference in the episode. John shares some tips, tricks, and foundational pr...

Jeff recorded a last minute replacement episode for Friday, October 21, late on Thursday, October 20. :-) He thought of too many things he wanted to share with you on Thursday, so he re-recorded the Friday episode and this is it! He even shares a clip from another podcast that speaks to the discipline of preaching and communicating. Thanks for proclaiming the Gospel to your people Pastor - we know...

Have you ever thought about it? Do you preach from your head or your heart? What does it mean to preach from your head? How can you be sure to preach from your heart? I think the only guaranteed way to truly preach from your heart... is to pray. Prayer opens up the highway for your message to be delivered from your heart to your people. Here's what this looks like... Enjoy! Support the show F...

Sometimes we prepare the message that we like, that we know, and that we would like to hear, never considering who is going to be sitting right in front of us. Jeff talks about how to consider those to whom you are speaking. They are the receivers and beneficiaries of your message. Consider them deeply as you prepare your sermon. Enjoy this episode! Support the show For more great content and conv...

There are a few things that are important to keep in mind - as you prepare an effective, helpful, and encouraging message for you people. What Jeff talks about today is ONE of them. He'll share three more throughout the rest of this week. He says... "Enjoy!" :-) Support the show For more great content and conversations for pastors, check out the over 400 episodes of the 200churches...

Hey Pastor, after missing a Sunday at my church, I feel a little out of sorts - a little off balance for the week ahead because I did not connect with my church family on Sunday. And, while reading 1 Samuel 12 I was challenge on the issue of preaching, and the kind of messages we share with our people - so here are some thoughts on that, along with a challenge for you... Enjoy! Support the show Fo...

John Finkelde talks about his own transition from founding pastor in his church, and he talks about raising up leaders, and transitioning volunteer leaders on and off teams. Jonny Craig talks with John Finkelde and pulls some  serious truth out of him! You can find John at GrowAHealthyChurch.com ! Enjoy! Support the show For more great content and conversations for pastors, check out the over 400...

Today I encourage you to start a practice that will benefit you for the rest of your life. I'm still dipping into this project for encouraging feedback every couple months... Enjoy! Support the show For more great content and conversations for pastors, check out the over 400 episodes of the 200churches Podcast !

What if you modeled your feedback after the "one another" commands in the New Testament? So often people don't want to hear or receive feedback, but if we love them in the process, they can and will welcome it. Marcus Buckingham shared some alternate turns of phrase we can use when sharing feedback with others - so that they are honored, affirmed, and still challenged. Support the s...

Let's be honest, I don't like feedback, and neither do you! We don't. We would love for everyone to just say that we did such a great job there is no possible room for improvement - and that would be a big, fat, juicy LIE! So today I share with you four questions to ask and answer to get the best feedback possible. Feedback is both a necessary evil, AND, the breakfast of champions!...

People don't like to tell their superiors bad news. Most followers don't want to be the bearer of bad news to their leaders. Heck, they didn't even tell the emperor that he had no clothes on! As a pastor/leader, you need to hear the truth, and it could be hard for you to get it. So you have to have people in your life who will review your junk, and tell you the good, the bad, and th...

How often do you find yourself or others saying, "That's weird!"? Do we react to weird, or do we respond with, "Tell me more!"? This is a tiny piece of self-awareness that can really help us. Enjoy! Support the show For more great content and conversations for pastors, check out the over 400 episodes of the 200churches Podcast !

Walter Brueggemann is the premier Old Testament scholar of the last 50 years in the United States. If you haven't heard of him, use Google, then YouTube... and eventually come back here to listen to the conversation my associate pastor, Jonny Craig, and I had with him a mere five years ago. His words are prescient and more applicable today than they were then! This will be the only time I&apo...

Tasha Eurich in her book, Insight , talks about "external self-awareness", understanding how other people see us. This got me thinking about times when I was viewed or understood in an entirely different light that I would have thought. It's good for us to be able to see ourselves how others see us. I share a couple of those times when others had to confront me... (If you want to vi...

Pastor, would you like to connect more deeply with your church family? Here's a simple daily ritual that can really help your relationships with the people in your church. There's a catch... it will require you commit the first 15 minutes of your work day to it. But if you do, it will transform how your church sees you, and how they relate to you. Check it out here on Episode 165... Supp...

Here's a helpful mental hack for starting your day the best way possible - rested, refreshed, and ready to go!  They say ("they say" :-)) it's all about MINDSET these days. So here's a mindset shift that has helped me, and maybe it will you too. Let's see... Support the show For more great content and conversations for pastors, check out the over 400 episodes of the 2...

What is it that fuels you for ministry Pastor? What is your "daily bread"? Some say that they don't want to serve God in the flesh, or out of the drive for power, popularity, or people pleasing.  Then what? What is your motive for serving God and from where do you derive empowerment and encouragement? Henri Nouwen has some thoughts that I share in this episode... Support the show Fo...

One of the greatest fears of a pastor is this: "What if my ministry has no significance? What if I am not significant? What if I am only a so-so pastor... ever?" Pastor, today I explore the possibility of your significance arriving long after you're gone. This one is thought provoking! Enjoy. Support the show For more great content and conversations for pastors, check out the over 4...

A personal message with a personal memory for Pastor Appreciation Month Support the show For more great content and conversations for pastors, check out the over 400 episodes of the 200churches Podcast !

Pastor Aaron has, like you, had a wild ride in the past few years. But Aaron, unlike most of us, has six kids, had his church catch fire, and finished a graduate degree - all while leading a church and then managing the maelstrom of ministry in 2020. Pastor Aaron is a wise leader, and I have benefited from a growing friendship with him. So I wanted to share some of that wisdom with you, and I know...

Jeff asked N.T. Wright... basically... "what would Paul say to a pastor of a smaller church today? A pastor who wanted to be successful in his calling, and was concerned about growing his/her church?" Wright's answer speaks to an understanding of "for we wrestle not against flesh and blood..." He knows where the fight is, and what victory looks like. He understands the bas...

Jeff continues to talk about the power you need to do ministry - not in your flesh, but in HIS mighty power. He reviews the nine practices that make up a rule of life for the modern era, according to John Mark Comer at practicingtheway.org. We simply must move away from doing ministry in the power of the flesh. Support the show For more great content and conversations for pastors, check out the ov...

We don't fight with our people (wrestle against flesh and blood). We are to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power, to fight against the principalities and powers. In order to have this power of God, we must live in communion with him, and that comes through... a rule of life! Today I introduce the practices that form a rule of life. And in doing so I reference PracticingTheWay.org . E...