Since graduating from seminary in 2011, one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced as the pastor of a small, rural congregation is recruiting, retaining, and replacing leaders within the church. At Nixon United Methodist Church, we have a practice of rotating new leaders out of leadership after three years. This policy has been challenging to…
Category: Ministry
Disability Inclusion in the Church
When you think of disability inclusion in the church, what comes to mind? Is it a row of occupied wheelchairs in the back of the sanctuary? Is it a youth volunteer with Down syndrome? Is it a ramp or an elevator? Disability inclusion can look like a lot of different things. And while the specifics…
Pastor Burnout
The great Welsh preacher, Christmas Evans (named “Christmas” because he was born on Christmas Day, 1766), was famous for saying: “I’d rather burn out than rust out in the service of the Lord.” The sentiment is clear: keep doing anything so you do not become stagnant and rust; it is perfectly ok to do too…