The Tilted Halo

As  leaders in faith based communities and churches, we are often given a specific title for how we serve or our role in the ministry. Titles are great AND they can also put us in a box. Ministry is a 365 days, 24/7 a day job that is both a privilege and at times it may feel restrictive Being “on call” all the time comes at a cost. A cost to family, your self care and the energy you have to serve...

You have a story!! You have a story that needs to be told.  As a pastor or a leader in faith, I am called to tell God’s story and the story of faith. We are educated and trained to share the message of the bible and God’s teachings however we forget to share our humanity side into our teaching.  It is our responsibility to share not only God’s story but share our story through our walk in faith. W...

As women in ministry there were many times I was the only woman in a leadership position and many times it was challenging to lead other male church leaders who were not used to having a woman in this type of role. Sometimes it was something “too new” for them, sometimes they had their own issues with a woman in that role and other times it just created more work and moments to maneuver through. ...

Ministry is such a magnificent profession.  You are with people, lovely people, sometimes with challenging people but you are with people. You have a congregation full of people to connect with and talk to and yet there are time that being in ministry can be one of the loneliest professions.  We as clergy have the responsibility to serve which many times entailes hearing and guiding our members th...

Are we “too busy” to really support and grow together with other women? There will always be “another”... another meeting, another appointment, another responsibility. Are we really too busy to make time for others? We need to be able to lean on each other instead of toughing it out like a lone ranger. Heck, even the lone ranger had someone else there with him. We as women in ministry are used to...

Being new to a congregation is not always easy and takes time and care to get adjusted and make necessary adjustments for your new leadership.  It becomes even more difficult when previous pastors are still connected to the congregation and sharing their opinion of the new leadership and their ways of leading. Many times the input from former leaders about the current leadership creates division,...

Is your “Welcome” sign really welcoming to everyone or are there conditions to who is welcomed through your church doors?  There is a difference between saying you are welcoming vs truly showing that you are welcoming. Welcome to all types, different races, nationalities, families with challenges or other appearances of being different or out of the norm. I have seen too often where there are more...

Change is important. Change is necessary if the church and ministry is going to stay alive!  The problem is the church is not always open to adjusting to change. Change is important in our ministry to keep fresh and maintain the LIVELINESS of the congregation.  Sometimes we have to step outside of our comfort zone and routines so that we can get more connected to ourselves and how we as a church s...

It would be nice to think that our journeys would be smooth, no bumps in the road but it just doesn’t happen that way. Starting in 8th grade I was called to ministry but had no idea of my female role that I felt fit ME. There were the standard female roles but it did not feel like what I was being called to. It wasn’t until I got into college that I became aware that women were now allowed to beco...

Although this conversation is primarily for women… MEN STAY HERE because this may be a very eye opening experience on what women in faith leadership roles face as they serve in their ministry.  Being a woman in the church comes with some typical expectation of your “role” in the church and how you are supposed to serve. You are judged on how you keep your house, you are rated on how good your food...

The truth is Ministry has changed and it continues to change. In an ever evolving world with the availability of new technology and how people feel about God and Faith; there are far fewer people who talk about themselves as being religious, even if they are members of a faith based community.  Why is this the case? Is the church keeping up with how the world is changing? Is the church making adju...

We often put a lot of pressure on our faith leaders, we place unreal expectations on them and will oftentimes be over critical on things that aren’t as important.  Being in ministry we are pushed into pressure by others and many times we place unnecessary pressure on ourselves to be perfect or without flaws. I have been a pastor for over 40 years and there are many times that others may have felt...