Pastors and Churches
« Previous EntriesLetting Go and Coming Back
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008Part 5 of series: Letting Go of a Church
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When pastors leave a church, they need to let go. This is essential for the health of the church, both in the present and the future. When pastors who leave continue to assert their influence, almost inevitably future pastors […]
What is Helping Me to Let Go (Section C)
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008Part 4 of series: Letting Go of a Church
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So far I’ve mentioned seven factors that are helping me let go as pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church. They are:
1. My Conviction that the Church and I Need to Move On
2. My Observations of What Happens When a Pastor […]
What is Helping Me to Let Go (Section B)
Monday, January 7th, 2008Part 3 of series: Letting Go of a Church
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On Friday I mentioned five things that are helping me let go as pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church. They were:
1. My Conviction that the Church and I Need to Move On
2. My Observations of What Happens When a Pastor […]
What is Helping Me to Let Go (Section A)
Friday, January 4th, 2008Part 2 of series: Letting Go of a Church
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In my last post I talked about my current struggle to let go of Irvine Presbyterian Church, where I served as pastor for sixteen years until three months ago. By “let go” I don’t mean I have to sever […]
Letting Go of a Church
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008Part 1 of series: Letting Go of a Church
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On June 30, 1991, I preached my first sermon as Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church. On September 30, 2007, I preached my last sermon as pastor of this fine church. That afternoon I got into my truck and […]
The Pastor as Godblogger
Friday, November 9th, 2007I’m currently at the GodBlogCon at the Las Vegas Convention Center. In former years GodBlogCon, a conference for Christians interested in the new media, convened at Biola University in Southern California. But this year GodBlogCon has joined up with the secular BlogWorld convention. Hence the new venue. I think it’s great that GodBlogCon has now […]
If I Had It To Do Over Again . . .
Saturday, September 29th, 2007Part 11 of series: Grace in the Rearview Mirror: A Pastoral Retrospective
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I will be the pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church for two more days. At the stroke of midnight on Sunday, September 30th, my term of 5,936 days comes to an end, and I become the […]
The Hardest Thing About Being a Pastor
Thursday, September 27th, 2007Part 10 of series: Grace in the Rearview Mirror: A Pastoral Retrospective
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In yesterday’s post I explained several things I found difficult about being a parish pastor: the difficulty of certain decisions, the heaviness of people’s burdens, the painfulness of receiving criticism, and the implications of personnel […]
The Best Job in the World, Except . . .
Wednesday, September 26th, 2007Part 9 of series: Grace in the Rearview Mirror: A Pastoral Retrospective
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In my last post I explained why I often thought that I had the best job in the world as Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church. In fact, I often told people that I felt this […]
The Best Job in the World
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007Part 8 of series: Grace in the Rearview Mirror: A Pastoral Retrospective
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There were many times during the past sixteen years when I thought I had the best job in the world. Yes, of course there were other times as well, and I’ll have something to say […]
The Stupidest Thing I Ever Said in a Sermon
Monday, September 24th, 2007Part 7 of series: Grace in the Rearview Mirror: A Pastoral Retrospective
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I do not look back at my ministry at Irvine Presbyterian Church with many regrets. Oh, I certainly made my fair share of errors. But the congregation managed to forgive me for these, and God […]
Memories in Pictures, A Few More
Saturday, September 22nd, 2007Part 6 of series: Grace in the Rearview Mirror: A Pastoral Retrospective
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A few men at our Men’s Retreat in the “Whar’s the bar?” skit. A fine tradition of humiliating the newcomers in Christian love.
A family working on their craft at our Christmas Craft Night in early […]
Some Memories in Pictures
Friday, September 21st, 2007Part 5 of series: Grace in the Rearview Mirror: A Pastoral Retrospective
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Baptizing a high school girl who became a Christian. Yes, am immersing her (sort of) in a kiddie pool.
The Sanctuary of Irvine Presbyterian Church early on Easter morning before the sunrise service.
The sanctuary during our […]
Flooded with Gratitude
Thursday, September 20th, 2007Part 4 of series: Grace in the Rearview Mirror: A Pastoral Retrospective
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Every time I sit back and begin to reflect on my last sixteen years of ministry at Irvine Presbyterian Church, I am flooded with gratitude.
At first my mind is filled with images of people, people […]
Pastoring by Grace, Section 2
Wednesday, September 19th, 2007Part 3 of series: Grace in the Rearview Mirror: A Pastoral Retrospective
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In my last post I explained my conviction that my pastoral work at Irvine Presbyterian Church was by God’s grace. The gifts and talents that enabled me to be a pastor are themselves evidence of […]
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