Professor Anthony Esolen has a real gift for juxtaposing the depravities and weaknesses of modern culture with the strength of traditional Christianity. While his critiques are strong, one of the things I appreciate about him is that he is criticizing western civilization from the inside. As such, … [Read more...]
Reality Check: Your parish has a sinful leader
A pastor friend forwarded this to me at an opportune time: the day after I had responded to someone's challenge with acerbic sarcasm. It happened at a board meeting, and I knew I had gone too far the moment I loosed my tongue. It became more obvious when that board member left the meeting in … [Read more...]
40 Days of Blogging: Rules and Vocational Discernment
From OrthoAnalytika, by Fr. Anthony Perkins (15 November 2014) With thanks to Fr. John Peck (Preacher's Institute) for setting up the 40 day challenge. I have been the Director of Vocations for the UOC-USA for about a year and a half now. It has been a real blessing to help men and women … [Read more...]
People Want Loving, Active, Joyful, and Evangelical Leadership
A couple of months ago, Pew Research announced a finding that surprised me: 49% of Americans want preachers to speak about "political issues." This was roughly the same percentage that do NOT want them to do so. I have not looked closely at the data, but I am willing to bet that people who go to … [Read more...]
When Fire Strikes: some lessons learned
Two years ago, during the pre-dawn hours of the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, the parish of St. Michael in Woonsocket (UOC-USA) suffered from a terrible fire. It got up into the rafters and destroyed the roof. It was only due to the bravery and proficiency of the firefighters that it was kept … [Read more...]
Autopsy of a Burned-Out Pastor: 13 Lessons
Another short gem from Thom Rainer, this one based on his "autopsies" of pastors whose ministries - and persons - were rendered "mission incapable" by their inability to cope with the cumulative pressures of parish life. Please note that only two of the factors: serving dysfunctional parishes and … [Read more...]
The One-Term Curse (and how to avoid it)
In this essay, Thom Rainer describes a parish phenomenon that is all too common among pastors: the three year tenure. I grew up in a tradition - Methodism - that had institutionalized a four year rotational schedule for its ministers. While short tenures have some benefits, they do not allow for … [Read more...]
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