This morning I'm sitting in a McDonalds writing my next book (free Wi-Fi). I've set my iphone to remind me to pause and be still each day at 10am and 3pm. I don't always stop, but today I did and read this reflection on Jonah's resistace to God's call on him to preach in Ninevah. In Eugene Peterson's inimitable way, he writes these words.

And why Tarshish? For one thing, it is a lot more exciting than Nineveh. Nineveh was an ancient site with layer after layer of ruined and unhappy history. Going to Nineveh to preach was not a coveted assignment for a Hebrew prophet with good references. But Tarshish was something else. Tarshish was exotic. Tarshish was an adventure … Tarshish in the biblical references was a “far off and sometimes idealized port.” It is reported in 1 Kings 10:22 that Solomon’s fleet of Tarshish fetched gold, silver, ivory, monkeys and peacocks … In Tarshish we can have a religious career without having to deal with God.

Did you catch the last line? "In Tarshish we can have a religious career without having to deal with God." As i reflected on my goals and drive in minsitry, I asked myself these questions, I encourage you to ask yourself these questions and ponder your answers.

1. Where do I find my identity, in Christ or in my ministry?
2. Am I driven to bigger and better ministries so I can feel good about myself? Or can I find contentment “that transcends all understanding” even in what appears to be a dead-end ministry?
3. Is my deepest motive to one day hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”? Or, am I driven to hear the people in the church say it?

What did God say to you when you asked yourself these questions?

Circumstances beyond our control (demographics or a location that hinders growth), an uncooperative board (they say no to an important initiative), or even family issues (a chronically ill child who requires an inordinate amount of energy) can hinder and dilute a pastor's ministry efforts. These experiences can bring painful brokenness to our hearts. We seldom immediately see any benefit from our brokenness.

Brokenness has touched my life in the two places where it hurts the most: my family (one chronically sick child, one who rebelled for five years) and my ministry (many dreams yet unfulfilled). But Jesus said brokenness must precede fruit bearing.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.[1]

The nineteenth-century Danish theologian Søren Kierkegaard captured the essence of this idea with this statement. “God creates everything out of nothing—and everything God is to use he first reduces to nothing.”[2]

Richard Foster, one of today’s most influential voices on spiritual formation, described one of the greatest benefits from brokenness. He calls this the “crucifixion of the will” and says it brings “freedom from the everlasting burden of always having to get our own way.”[3] Having to always get our own way is the antithesis of the other-centered life Jesus modeled for us. Isn't that our ultimate goal in serving the Church, selflessness?

How has God used brokenness in your life and ministry?

Related posts: The Apostle Paul's Thorn: prescriptive or descriptive

If you're a pastor, a missionary, or serve in a church, you can't avoid discouragement, disappointment, and hurt from ministry. The bible even uses the not-so-complimentary metaphor "sheep" to describe those we serve. And sheep get dirty and smelly and often kick and bite. Sometimes those sheep in the church do the same to their shepherds.

So when you  get kicked, forgotten, disrespected, ignored, mistreated, gossiped about, or misunderstood, how do you move forward?

The story recorded in 1 Samuel 30 gives great insight. David had just begun his career to fight the bad guys. Early on he faced a huge defeat. While he and his army were in battle far from home, the bad guys, the Amalekites, attacked the city where his family and the families of his army lived. They burned the city and kidnapped their wives and children. When David's men discovered this, they considered removing him from his position, not by a vote of a board or a congregation, but with big rocks to the head by stoning.

The Scriptures then record one of the most beautiful verses every written. The old King James Version captures it well.

David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.  (1 Sam. 30.6)

It worked because his guys didn't stone him but marshaled their energy and once again pursued the bad guys under his leadership.

As I've faced discouragement in ministry, these simple choices have helped me encourage myself in the Lord.

1. Acknowledge your pain and emotion to the Lord but don't wallow in it.
2. Journal your thoughts. Writing them down helps me stop the tendency to incessantly mull over the hurtful situation.
3. Read God's word, especially those verses that speak of hope and victory.
4. Do something pro-active. Take action to move forward. In David's case he took specific action to resolve the problem. He rallied his troops to chase down the Amalekites.
5. Stop condemning yourself and remind yourself that you are a child of God, loved by Him with great intrinsic value regardless of whether  your church is growing or whether people treat you with respect.
6. Pray for those who have hurt you. I'm amazed how God defuses looming bitterness in my heart when I pray for the sheep that bite me.

I've served in full-time ministry for 30 years in churches in the south, the southwest, the far west and the mid-west. I've noticed that a church's expectations of a pastor vary depending on the region.

When I served a large church in the central valley in California I could easily meet the church's expectations. I currently serve in the mid-west and I've found that meeting others' expectations is extremely challenging, especially among successful church members. I attribute that to both the business environment here that to succeed you must perform at a high level and to the fact my church sits near four well-known mega-churches with world class leaders and preachers. Comparison comes with the territory.

Every ministry leader faces the 'measure up mentality' to some extent. Although we can't avoid it, we can choose how we respond to it.

Some unwise choices include...

1. thinking we can please everybody
2. morphing into someone we are not to try to get everybody's approval
3. using "I can't please everyone" as an excuse to be lazy, not work hard, or avoid difficult problems or people
4. obsessing over those you can't please

This week I'm posting a series of blogs about how pastors respond when people in their church compare their leadership and preaching to others or when they brag about another church by insinuating that we don't measure up

Yesterday I posted 5 ways we should respond when we feel compared to others more 'successful' than us.

Today, we're looking at really bad ways to react when someone in your church compares you to others. I've listed five unhealthy reactions here.

1. Find something about the other 'guy' to criticize, like, "We'll, I've heard he's a real jerk when he's one-on-one with other people."
2. Tell the other person that maybe they need to start attending that church.
3. With a sarcastic tone tell that person, "Thanks, I really needed that!"
4. In your mind, beat yourself up about what a failure you are.
5. Go home and overeat, take your anger out on your spouse and kids, or look at pornography.

We're teaching a series on spiritual gifts at our church. You can listen to the podcasts here if you'd like. As a pastor, the more people discover, develop, and deploy their gifts, the healthier the church becomes.  Here are 6 tips I suggest to others to help them discover their gifts.

1. Ask yourself, "What do I enjoy doing/what do I do well?"

A good indicator of where a person's giftedness lies may be found in activities that give us joy and satisfaction and interests us. Encourage others to get in touch with spheres of service that produce a flow of inner joy, excitement and energy. Helping others find what God made them for produces great joy.

2. As yourself, "If I could I would…"

If I could do ______ and time and money were no issue, what would I do?  If i knew I couldn't fail what would I do to make a difference?  If I could I would address what concerns, area of peoples' lives, or areas in the church to make things better or improve things?

3. Pray.

What do you sense in your heart is your gift? Where do you get a sense of peace?

4. Take a test drive.

Help others jump in and commit for 6 months in a potential ministry to discover if it is a fit.

5. Look for results.

When you exercise your gifts and you are fitted in the right place in your ministry, you will see effectiveness. God will bring about spiritual results in the lives of people because when when we use our gifts, we become a channel through which God’s Spirit flows.

6. Seek the advice of wise people.

Seek out gifted people in the area where you think your gifts may lie. Place yourself under their tutelage. The affirmation of others often can indicate giftedness.

How have you helped others discover their gifts?

Related posts: 5 Reasons Churches should Celebrate More Often

Recently I've been reading a lot about how to view problems in ministry and leadership through a different lens. A concept developed in the late 50's and 60's by a psychologist, Murray Bowen, has shed some brilliant light on the subject for me; so brilliant, in fact, that I wish I understood this concept 25 years ago. Had I learned it and applied it then, I could have saved myself a lot of grief as a pastor and as a father. The concept is called family systems. Don't let the title fool you, though. It's not all about your immediate family. This concept has profound implications for leadership in the church. I'm planning to write my next book using family systems as the backbone.

One of the best writers on the subject, Peter Steinke, a Christian psychologist, wrote the book How Your Church Family Works. It's a great primer on family systems that directly applies to churches.

At the core of family systems is understanding emotional process and specifically, how we manage our anxiety, a term used for any negative emotion. In one of Steinke's chapters he writes about those who criticize us. When I read his two paragraphs I paused and said to myself, "Wow. I've never heard it put that way before."

Read it below and tell me how it hits you.

Pursuit behavior is any behavior that overfocuses on another person....

By far the most difficult form of pursuit behavior to recognize is criticism. How can those who act adversarially be said to be in pursuit? We feel alienated, not close. But the criticism is characterized by overfocus. The "stinger" and the "stung" are emotionally connected. Whenever a gnawing critic gets inside our brain cells and we can't expunge him, we are connected, even if negatively. Whenever someone gets under our skin, we are infected with anxiety. If we are reactive to a pursuer, the pursuit behavior achieves its goal: connection. Strange as it sounds, the critic wants to be close. After all, if we can't be close through play, ecstasy, touch, and nurture, our only option to accomplish closeness is through angry outbursts, specious charges, or harsh accusations. People feel close to us when they know we are thinking about them. What we think is not as important as that we are thinking of them. We play into the hands of the criticizer when we react to their invasion rather than define ourselves to it. (p 88 of How your Church Family Works).

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Related posts:

10 Ways to Respond to the Church Critic

How to Deal with Criticism

I've served as a pastor for over 30 years in churches as small as 4 1/2 (my wife, two pre-schoolers, and one on the way) to churches that approached 2,000 attenders. The locations have included the far west, the midwest, the south, and the southwest.

A sampling of responses to the question, "How well do you think Charles did?" would include...

• He was great. I'm sad he moved.
• I'm glad he left.
• His preaching really inspired me.
• I just wasn't getting fed.
• He really cared about people.
• He was distant and unavailable.
• He had great leadership skills.
• He's no John Maxwell.

If you've served in ministry for any time, you've probably asked yourself this question, "How well am I really doing?" If you've not asked that exact question, I'm sure you've secretly asked yourself some pretty probing ones that made you feel guilty.

I'm beginning a blog series on Guilt-producing questions pastors secretly ask themselves and I'd like your help. I've listed a few questions below that those in ministry probably ask. What do you think? What would you add to this list?

1. Why do I sometimes want to skip church on Sundays?
2. Am I spending enough time preparing my sermons?
3. Why do people really leave my church?
4. I love my wife deeply. But if I think another woman is attractive, am I crazy? Or worse, am I sinning?
5. Why do I feel like I don't measure up to the expectations of ... the board, my staff, my spouse or ...? Is it their problem or mine?
6. Am I spending enough time with my family?
7. Do I pray enough?
8. Does owning nice things like a nice house or a new car or enjoying things like a fancy vacation diminish my example? Is it wrong to have or experience what others in my church have?
9. Why do I often feel anger inside toward people?
10. ????

What guilt producing questions do you think pastors secretly ask themselves? I'd love to hear from you as I begin this blog series.

Each November I bring an annual "vision" message to explain the big picture for the coming year and hopefully motivate buy-in.

Related posts: Strategic Planning for Dummies

In my research for my latest book, 5 Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them, I discovered that pastors are often the loneliest people in the church, second perhaps only to their wives.

I interviewed Dr. Michael Ross, Executive Director of The Pastors Institute, who has worked with several thousand pastors in various capacities. He told me that the number one problem pastors face is isolation.

Gary Kinnaman author and former mega-church pastor and Alfred Ellis, author and founder-director of Leaders that Last, an organization for ministers, wrote, "Most people in full-time ministry do not have close personal friendships and consequently are alarmingly lonely and dangerously vulnerable.”[1]

Well known author, Steve Arterburn has observed that “the men in the church who are least likely to have friend connections are pastors.”[2]

Focus on the Family discovered that nearly 42% do not have any accountability partner with whom they meet.[3]

And the Alban Institute, an ecumenical organization that serves thousands of congregations through research and publishing, has learned that pastors tend to seek help from others only when they are in crisis, “rather than allowing these resources to sustain and nourish them consistently.”[4]

In other words, we don’t seek out safe people to help us process ongoing ministry issues until they escalate into major crises. Even then, many pastors suffer alone.

We’ve probably all preached that God created us for deep relationship with others. But just as anorexia (the word actually means “no appetite”) can cause a person literally to feel no hunger even though he is starving, relational anorexia can keep us from feeling our inner hunger for deep relationships. Henry Cloud and John’s Townsend’s Safe People lists these indicators that we might have relational anorexia.

• I am uncomfortable with people and relaxed when alone.
• I don’t get “lonely,” whatever people mean by that.
• I spend time with people out of obligation, or for functional reasons (tennis partner, commuting to work, etc.).
• My fantasies of vacation always involve my doing something fun by myself.[5]

The authors also posed several questions that may indicate major hindrances to healthy relationships. I’ve paraphrased them here.

1. Do you tend to only be a giver in most of your relationships?
2. Do others usually approach you only when they want something from you rather than to simply spend time with you?
3. Do you find it difficult to open up to others?
4. Do you most often choose to be alone to deal with your problems?
5. Do you feel that only God really knows and loves you?
6. Are intimate, two-way conversations with others rare?[6]

So, what should we do if we suffer from relational anorexia? I recommend that every pastor have at least one safe person in his (or her) life with whom they can be honest and with whom they can process their pain.

In my next blog entry I will suggest qualities to look for in such a safe person.

_____

[1] Gary Kinnaman and Alfred Ellis, Leaders that Last (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003), 10.

[2] REV.org, “Steve Arterburn Interview: Open Season,” August 2007. http://rev.org/protected/Article.aspx?ID=2519.

[3] Focus on the Family, “Pastoral Ministries 2009 Survey” (of over two thousand ministers), http://www.parsonage.org/images/pdf/2009PMSurvey.pdf, 8.

[4] Michael Jinkins, The Alban Institute, Congregations, “Great Expectation, Sobering Realities: Findings From a New Study on Clergy Burnout,” Number 3, May/June 2002. http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?q=printme&id=3284

[5] Henry Cloud and John Townsend, Safe People (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), 129.

[6] Adapted from ibid.

For more Help and Resources for Depressed Pastors and their wives, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

Kevin Cashman wrote the book Leadership from the Inside Out: Becoming a Leader for Life. I highly recommend it. I'm reading it for a second time.

In one chapter he writes about managing change in an organization. His change mastery  shifts below apply to church leadership as well.

1. Focus on Opportunities vs. Problems
2. Focus on Long Term vs Short Term (don't lost sight of your long-term vision in the midst of change)
3. Focus on Purpose vs. Circumstance (keep focused on your and your church's purpose and values to avoid being mired in difficult circumstances)
4. Focus on Adaptability vs Control (control will only yield a certain degree of results; good leaders must remain agile, flexible, and innovative to sustain results over the long haul)
5. Focus on Service vs. Self (serve your leaders during the stress of change)
6. Focus on Listening vs. Expertise (effective leaders stay open and practice authentic listening to stay connected to others and to remain open to other innovative solutions)

Other related posts:

• Etch-a-sketch Church Planning

For more Help and Resources for Discouraged Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

In the book First, Break all the Rules, by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, they list 12 core questions Gallup discovered that, when asked, give organizations the information they need to attract, focus, and keep the most talented employees.

Pastors and church leaders would do well to regularly ask their employees to answer them.

For more Leadership Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

Peter Drucker, often called the father of modern management, was also a committed Christian. I've read several of his books on leadership that have helped me become a better leader and pastor.

Jim Collins recently spoke at Willow Creek's Leadership Summit. At that conference he told us that after Drucker died, he spoke at an event in his honor and had the opportunity to step into his office. On one bookshelf someone had arranged his 35 books in the order in which he wrote them. Jim remarked that when he put his finger on the book he wrote at age 65, 2/3's of the books were still to the right, written after he turned 65. Old age never slowed him down. Rather, his age seemed to spur him to even greater productivity.

These four statements Drucker made about great leaders have never left me.

1. Great leaders had followers
2. Great leaders got results--they did the right things and didn’t worry about popularity
3. Great leaders knew that leadership was responsibility, not rank, privileges or titles
4. Great leaders set good examples

Church leaders would do well to heed his wise words.

Related posts:

• Seven Leadership Learnings from Willow Creek's Leadership Summit
• What Snorkeling Taught me about Selecting Leaders

For more Help and Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

My wife and I just returned from a conference in Bogota, Colombia where we taught pastors and their wives. We were privileged to serve with Juan Carlos Flores Zúñiga and his wife Orietta who arranged the conference through his organization. Lance Witt and his wife Connie were also on the teaching team. He served as the executive pastor at Saddleback for several years and now leads his own ministry. Vicente Castillo, a pastor from Mexico also taught.

We served over 75 pastors and their spouses and it was a humbling experience. These gracious people reminded me of 4 crucial leadership principles.

1. Leaders who grow must must cultivate a hunger to keep growing. I was amazed at how these pastors took prodigious notes as I spoke. Their desire to learn was palpable.
2. Godly leaders embody an attitude of gratitude. Although all the pastors showed appreciation, one brought tears to my eyes. He said many years ago an American missionary gave him a small new testament. That small bible became instrumental in his conversion. He said with great joy, "God bless America." He viewed America as a tool in God's hand to point him to Jesus.
3. The best leaders never stop sacrificing for the greater cause of the Kingdom. I learned that many of these pastors left good paying jobs as engineers, business executives, and other professional vocations to serve Christ full-time. Unfortunately, in America we are tempted to settle into a comfortable life-style in ministry and forget Jesus' call to continual sacrifice.
4. God uses leaders who show child-like faith. I sat in a restaurant and listened to a pastor's wife tell story after story how God had miraculously provided for them. She described God's work with such freshness and enthusiasm that the Lord convicted me of my sometimes lack of this kind of faith.

Leaders must constantly remind themselves that these four principles really matter to God. And, He uses the most unlikely people and places to remind us, as He did for me.

For more Help and Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

Last week I attended Willow Creek's Leadership Summit at a local video venue. As usual, the speaker line-up was superb.

I used my iPad to capture my learnings and these these seven stood out.

1. We can hear the whispers from God when we lower the ambient noise in our lives. Bill Hybels, The Power of the Whisper
2. In leadership conversations, what is your question to statement's ratio? We should be asking more questions. We spend too much time being interesting than being interested. Jim Collins, How the Mighty Fall
3. No one has to be forced to do what they are passionate about. Christine Caine
4. Don't let the devil ride because he is going to want to drive. Adam Hamilton
5. Complaints arrive as unappointed guests. They resist eviction. Trust evicts complaints. Jeff Manion, When Christians get it Wrong
6. The carrot and stick approach to motivation works for simple tasks but not for tasks that require creativity. Daniel Pink, author of Drive.
7. We spend too much time trying to change the bottom (meaning that we focus too much on trying to change non-performers). Jack Welch, author of Winning.

Jim Collins told us that he had lots of free stuff on his web site. He was right. Check it out and you'll find some great free stuff for leaders.

If you'd like a free chapter of my latest book, 5 Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them, endorsed by Ed Stetzer, you can get one here. It's based on what I learned from a study of 2,000 pastors I commissioned Lifeway Research, Barna Research, and Christianity Today to do for the book.

For more Help and Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

I commissioned Barna Research, Lifeway Research, and Christianity Today to survey almost 2,000 pastors to discover what issues can cause a ministry or a leader's passion for ministry to die. I based my latest book on those findings. You can download a free chapter of the book here.

It would do us well to heed Socrates wise advice when he wrote, "Know thyself."

For more Help and Resources to overcome Pastoral Burnout, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

I've been in full-time vocational ministry nearly 30 years and used to  think that the most important use of my time was preaching the message. I still believe that, especially for the masses, but perhaps the second most important time is what I do right before the service and right after the service.

I call it the "ministry of presence." My high visibility as I chat with people, shake their hands, and give them a listening ear provides a tiny "one-on-one" window into their hearts. I believe those brief interactions often affect them more than the sermon itself.

Here are four simple choices to maximize that time.

• Look for the "deer-in-the-headlights" look. This look often telegraphs new people. I look at peoples' eyes and I can usually catch their "I'm new here and have no idea what to do or where to go." I will introduce myself and try to make them feel that I really care. A touch like that from a pastor can make a profound impact on a new person.

• Seek out those in wheelchairs, those with canes, or those with other physical or mental challenges. One guy, Robin, comes to our service in a motorized wheelchair. A mobile ventilator attached to his wheelchair keeps him alive. Another boy, Nicholas, is confined to his wheelchair. He is twelve. One older teen walks with a bent body and slurs her words when she talks. I don't let a service go by without talking, touching, and affirming them.

• Give your full attention to people when you do talk to them. Avoid the, "talking to one person while you are getting ready to talk to the next person" persona. People quickly sense half-hearted listeners.

• Finally, steer clear of the monopolizers. This may sound harsh, but some people will take your entire time before and after a service as they talk about themselves or some problem. I will often walk up a different aisle so as to avoid getting cornered by a monopolizer.

These simple practices have made many powerful spiritual deposits in others as I offer them my "ministry of presence."

Try out these ideas this month and see if you, too, feel God's pleasure.

Related posts:

• What a guy on a ventilator taught me

• What a dying man taught me

For more Help and Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

[caption id="attachment_823" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Some of the kids in Operation Helping Hands"][/caption]

It's exciting to see many churches embracing community and missional ministry more than ever. When I grew up, I can't remember being challenged to go out into my community to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the poor and under-resourced. Perhaps that's why it took me so long to personally 'get it.'

The church where I now serve really 'gets it.' We are a church with a weekly attendance around 1,200 and after an intentional effort the last four years to become more missional, we've seen this fruit.

• last year we gave more money to missional causes than we ever gave in a year's time
• 1500 participated in some way in local missional efforts, many multiple times
• 100 went on a short-term missions project overseas
• we just completed our annual Helping Hands project in the community and nearly 500 people from four different churches served

We even coined a term that has helped capture the spirit of our church: serving the Least, the Last, and the Lost.

So, what have we learned and what are some principles to keep in mind if you want your church to become more missional?

1. Find a champion. One of our pastors had a vision 10 years ago for us to become more missional. He has persisted for those 10 years.
2. Build missional ministry into your annual church objectives.
3. Keep the vision before the church often. Repeat it in messages. Encourage small groups to do missional projects together. Celebrate victories and tell lots of stories.
4. Offer multiple, small steps for your church. Stay persistent and don't look for just one big thing to comprise the extent of your community ministry, although a big event can catalyze your church.
5. Develop partners. Find local city our community agencies that need help and offer to help them. We've worked with over a dozen city agencies, the local United Way,  the city of Aurora, IL and several other churches.

[caption id="attachment_845" align="alignright" width="300" caption=""Volunteer of the Year" Award"][/caption]

Persistence will pay off. This year our church actually won the community "Volunteer of the Year" award from the local United Way.  We didn't apply for it in any way. Rather, the committee that makes those choices had seen our extensive work in the community and made the decision.

So, as you lead your church, consider how to be Jesus' hands and feet in the community.

Some great resources:

• Ed Stetzer's book, Breaking the Missional Code.
• Rick Rusaw's book, The Externally Focused Church.

For more Ministry Help and Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

Sometimes we can view leadership as simply big-picture, long-term, and strategic, especially if we lead organizations such as a church or a non-profit.

I've learned, however, that how I treat one-on-one encounters with leaders can impact the leader and the organization often in greater ways than my big-picture leadership.

Here are three questions to silently ask ourselves when with another leader.

1. If I were in his/her shoes, would this leader feel loved?
2. What does this leader need from me now and how can I meet it?
3. What is God doing in this person's life and how does He want me to help?

Perhaps these questions are ways to live out the maxim, "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

Do you silently ask yourself any questions that help you one-on-one lead?

For more Leadership Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

Recently Leadership Network asked 40 pastors (including the likes of Wayne Cordeiro and Elmer Towns) to explain in 6 minutes what they wish they had done differently in ministry. They held an online conference called SAGE.

As one of the speakers, I spoke on why I wish I was less like a turtle.

You can read an article that Leadership Journal posted, Animal Instincts, taken from my book 5 Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them that unpacks this concept in more detail.

Do your ever find yourself responding like this to ministry's challenges?

CS Leadership from Ginger Creek Community Church on Vimeo.

For more Resources, Tips and Help for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

Do you ever think about the fragrance of Christ? What is it, what does it mean. And really, what DOES He smell like?

I once read one of those tear-jerker email forwards about a baby girl who was born severely premature and was not expected to live. Due to her immature little immune system, her parents were unable to hold her or touch her. As she lay there isolated in the incubator, webs of tangled tubing pouring from her tiny body, her mother fervently, desperately prayed that somehow, some way Jesus would hold her little girl in her stead.

This little girl miraculously survived and became a completely healthy, bubbly 5-year-old. One day, she was with her mother at her older brother's little league game. The sky was darkening, and a rain shower was imminent. Her mother looked at the sky and casually commented, "Oh, it smells like rain."

Her daughter crossed her arms, looked at her mother with furrowed little eyebrows, and said, "No, it doesn't."

Her mother then asked, "Well, honey, what does it smell like?"

She said, "It smells like him."

"Who, honey?"

She calmly replied, "It smells like Jesus, when you lay your head on His chest, and He holds you."

The fragrance of the Savior.

* * * * *

Many of you know that one of the ways we show Christ's love to the women working in the adult industry are through gifts -- gifts of fun, girly things like body sprays, lotions, scented candles. No strings attached. Expecting nothing in return. Because they ARE worth it.

Our prayer for each and every one of these gifts is that every time the woman smells the sweet fragrance of a lotion on her skin, inhales the scent of a candle filling her home, spritzes a body spray onto her wrists, that that scent will be a tangible reminder of Someone who values her, welcomes her, plans for her, and LOVES her. . . always, forever, with no strings attached.

What we hope becomes the fragrance of Christ.

Perhaps our Jesus does smell like the coming rain.

Or a freshly-fallen winter snow?

What if He smells like the mountains at sunrise, the air thick with pine tree and wetness?

Or the salty spray of the ocean off the rocky cliffs at sunset?

What if He is orange blossom and jasmine, lemongrass and lavender, basil and bergamot?

Or, what if the fragrance of Christ is something as simple as the scent of "Warm Vanilla Sugar" body lotion, intermingled with the fierce love and tender mercy of a couple of girls who go to these women and tell them, "You, precious woman, are insanely, infinitely, desperately, overwhelmingly, perfectly LOVED. We just wanted you to know."

Related post: Strip-Club Ministry: My Daughter's Story

For more Uplifting Resources for Discouraged Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

I'm a busy pastor and am committed to developing my walk with Jesus through several spiritual disciplines. One discipline I practice is a daily time with God when I read Scripture, pray, and journal.

Before I owned an iPad, my quiet time looked like this.

1. read my bible (the paper version), often reading several different bibles to compare translations
2. read a devotional from a paper book
3. journal with pen and paper and later I journaled on my Mac in a Word doc
4. pray through my prayer list on a Treo outlining program, when I got an iPhone I began to use it

Here's what has changed since I got my iPad 6 weeks ago.

1. read my bible on my iPad using Olive Tree's BibleReader program (multiple versions, side-by-side comparison, ability to hi-light, take notes, and cut and paste into another program)
2. read an e-devotional from one of the best bible study apps, Logos
3. journal on my iPad using a program called MaxJournal
4. pray through my prayer list using a program called PrayerLists

How this has improved my devotional life.

1. While not feeling rushed, having these tools all in one place has saved time that I can now devote to the actual spiritual exercise.
2. Reading on the big iPad screen using BibleReader is an incredible experience as I can view side-by-side 2 translations at once, can pull up commentaries alongside the text, can copy a verse and paste in into my journal, can hi-light in one color verses I'm memorizing and hi-light in another color a verse that stands out
3. MaxJournal gives a very nice layout, the ability to search, and the ability to use the on-screen keyboard or a bluetooth keyboard. Very cool.
4. PrayerLists provides an easy way to record prayer needs and allows me to schedule them on the days I want to pray for those needs.
5. Having everything in one small package makes it more convenient since I don't have to lug around four things-bible, journal, devotional, and prayer list.

Struggles I still face.

1. To be honest, I still feel kinda' guilty not reading out of a paper bible. Sometimes I feel like I'm not really reading the bible though the more I read from BibleReader, the less guilty I feel. :)
2. It is a bit of a hassle with the current iPad os to move back and forth between programs, but OS 4.0 will allow multi-tasking.
3. PrayerLists is not yet adapted for iPad but the developer is working on it.
4. At first it seemed too 'tech-y,' but the more I use this system, the more I'm finding this tool to be an invaluable help in my walk with Christ.

If you have an iPad, has it helped you grow? if so, how?

In a few weeks I'll post my experience using the iPad in preaching.

Related posts: How Pastors can Benefit from an iPad

For more Help, Tips and Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

I just spent ten days with my family on vacation in the Bahamas in a condo literally steps from the beach. The snorkeling was dazzling, even better than snorkeling in Hawaii two years ago. I saw over two dozen varieties of fish, excluding the nurse sharks, dolphins, and a giant starfish I found.

My experience with three specific fish reminded me that we leaders must keep certain principle in mind when we select other leaders to serve in our ministries or serve on staff.

One day we took a powerboat trip to a private island in the Exumas, a collection of islands in the Bahamas. The experience included feeding grapes to threatened iguanas and fish slivers to giant stingrays. The highlight was when the tour guides fed grouper carcasses to lemon sharks and reef sharks, as we stood a mere ten feet away.

Schools of triangular-shaped silver fish about the size of saucers swam a few feet from the shore. They kept their distance, though. After our broiled grouper lunch, I decided to try an experiment. I put on my goggles, took two hotdog buns, and waded out into the water. I pinched off small bits of the bun and dropped them a foot in front of me while I was under water. A feeding frenzy ensued reminiscent of a piranas' attack.

As long as I gave them hotdog buns, they stuck around. But once I ran out, they scattered. Here's the principle I learned from these fish.

1. Shy away from prospective leaders who just want a piece of you. These people are mostly takers.

I often snorkeled in a reef about two hundred yards east of the beach in front of our condo. One day as I swam there, the reef shelf suddenly dropped from four to over ten feet. It carved the reef into a horseshoe-shaped mini-lagoon. I looked to my left and saw the most beautiful fish I had ever seen, a lion fish about a foot long. Unlike most fish, when I dove down toward it, it wasn't frightened. For ten minutes I snorkeled about two feet from this magnificent fish. I felt like the fish whisperer and that I and the fish were one. :)

When I got back to the condo, I told my daughter what I had seen and she exclaimed, "Dad, I think that fish was a lion fish. It's poisonous!" I responded, "No it's not." I then googled 'lion fish' and the picture in Wikapedia (shown here) included this caption: "The lion fish's attack posture.'" As I read further, I learned that if you touched one of its spines you'd experience severe headaches, vomiting, and difficulty breathing and would require immediate emergency medical attention.

I had been so enthralled with the fish's beauty that I almost put myself in a dangerous situation because I didn't know enough about the species. Here's the second principle I learned from the lion fish.

2. Carefully vet those who dazzle you with the first impression they make on you. First impressions can deceive.

Call me stupid, but the next day I went to the same reef hoping to see the lion fish again. This time I wanted a picture, from a safe distance though. It wasn't there, but as I floated I noticed a piece of seaweed about the size of those large pencils carpenters use to mark wood. For some reason I kept looking at it and as my eyes focused on this floating 'seaweed' I realized it was a fish. From my elementary school days I remember seeing a picture of this species called a 'trumpet fish,' a relative of the seahorse.

I almost missed seeing this unique fish because it blended so well into the reef's background. Here's the third leadership selection principle.

3. Your best leader may be right in front of you. Often they won't stand out in a crowd (much like how David didn't 'look' like a king when God told Samuel to pick him).

So, the next time you face a leadership selection decision, consider these three principles.

What principles have helped you make good leader selections?

Other related posts:

• How to be a Secure Leader
• Are You a Catalytic Leader

For more Pastor Help and Resources, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

This is my married daughter's story about her ministry to women involved in strip clubs. She and her husband recently moved to California, yet this ministry she started continues to thrive.

The drive to Kentucky was beautiful, punctuated with fields of yellowed wildflowers and the emerald green of the lush Southern foliage.

We rolled into the small parking lot of a white building in downtown Louisville and waited to meet the Scarlet Hope girls. Scarlet Hope is a non-profit comprised of many amazing men and women (led by Rachelle Starr) who have been diligently, intentionally loving women in the Louisville strip club industry for over a year and a half.

When the team arrived, we felt welcomed instantly.  Hugs were exchanged, food was given, authenticity was evident, and love abounded. The Scarlet Hope team is a study in paradoxes: they are passionate, yet gentle; fiercely determined, yet flexible and easy-going; tough, yet kind-hearted and loving. We felt valued, welcomed, and loved by all.

After an incredible Bible study, hang out time, and an amazing prayer for our own ministry (new name), we were informed that we would be accompanying team leaders Rachelle and Hannah to their two "roughest" clubs. We loaded up the navy SUV with enough food for 30 and hair and makeup supplies and drove off down the highway.

We exited, made a right, and turned into a cracked and crumbling parking lot adjacent to a run-down brick building. Two flickering neon signs that read “XXX” marked our destination. (This club had recently been robbed at gunpoint, by the way). We (Rachelle, Hannah, Megan, and me) each carried a huge, heavy Tupperware bin containing homemade food and plastic cutlery, shuffled up to the narrow doorway of the first club, and walked in.

I was completely unprepared for what I saw next.

A bouncer who guarded the dark doorway greeted us. A petite redhead puffing on a Marlboro approached us and said, “Hello!” She cracked a smile to reveal that her upper jaw was empty except for her two front teeth. The reddish glow that bathed the club’s interior only added to the aura of seediness. Expecting the team, the club manager came up to Hannah and Rachelle and embraced them as she would old friends. She and Rachelle began a lively conversation. Megan, Hannah, and myself located the plastic container of Clorox wipes we brought and began to wipe off the countertop/stage and around the poles. This countertop/bar/stage doubled as our food service station.

We peeled back the tinfoil from large disposable roasting pans to reveal a mouth-watering meal – fresh Italian salad, homemade garlic bread, steaming roasted spaghetti, and an assortment of desserts. The dancers began lining up at the bar as we began serving heaping portions of food on Styrofoam plates. They were thrilled to receive a delicious, hot meal. In strolled Geraldine, the 85-year-old lady who’s been selling Avon in the strip clubs for 30 years. She began scooping spoonfuls of homemade pasta onto her plate.

Scarlet Hope also brought Mother’s Day gifts – dainty pearl earrings in adorable handmade cards – for each of the mothers in the club. Once we gave the women their earrings, they shrieked with glee and said, “OOOOH – thank you, thank you, thank you!” They took out the earrings they were wearing and replaced them with their new pearls. When we left, you could see tiny pearls decorating the ears of nearly every woman in the club. In total, we passed out more than 25 pairs.

We began making plates for the women in the adjacent club. As usual, the Scarlet Hope girls walked right in, greeted with warm hugs, smiles, and “Hey, girls!” The dancers lowered themselves from the stage and began happily eating the delicious food. We struck up a conversation with one of the dancers, “Trixy.” She told me about her young daughter, her love of knitting, herself. She said to us, “God bless y’all for doing this. You know we need somebody to love on us!” When I looked at her and said emphatically, “You are worth every bit of it,” she batted her eyelashes, looked down at her hands clasped in her lap, and grinned. Though it was hard to tell in the dark club, she seemed to blush like a little girl.  It was hugs all around and dancers yelling, “I love you!” and “See you girls again next week!” as we left the club and headed to our next.

As we pulled up to the next club, Rachelle advised us to be careful, as there were a lot of “weirdos” that hung around the back gravel lot, and it was rumored that there had been a kidnapping recently. “This is only the second time we’ve been in this club,” she said, so they didn’t know what kind of reception they would get. We walked into the dimly lit club, past the pool table, and up to the bar toting buckets of hair supplies, makeup kits, and a dozen hot pink cupcakes. Immediately, one of the dancers spotted us, and we were greeted with, “HEEEEEY!!!!” as we were led back to the dressing room by the bartender.

We walked into a very small room, decorated with cracked, smudgy mirrors and rows of dented lockers with names like “Snickers” and “Sparkle” scrawled on them with Sharpie marker or nail polish. Hand-written notes instructing the club employees to wear makeup, bathe, and wear deodorant, and warning the women not to leave the club unattended, were taped to the two mirrors.

We opened up the colorful makeup kits, plugged in numerous flat irons and curling irons, set out the nail kit, and waited for the girls. Three women immediately bounded into the small, smoky room as they each teetered precariously on 6” heels.  They informed us that they had been eagerly awaiting this visit.

For the next two and a half hours, we (Hannah, Rachelle, Megan, and I) proceeded to file, straighten, curl, spray, apply, and pamper these women in any way we possibly could. Rachelle did a pedicure on “Cassidy”, a tattoo-covered brunette in a black Jim Beam halter-top, as she took deep drags of her cigarette and chatted openly about her difficult life. Hannah applied a fun purple polish to “Diamond”’s fingernails as they talked and laughed.  She introduced herself, and I began running a flat iron through “Bambi”’s thick blonde hair.

The girls were thrilled! They commented several times that “No one has ever pampered us like this before!” and about how beautiful they looked and felt. “Honey” got a makeover – newly styled hair and freshly applied makeup – and couldn’t wait to take pictures because she looked so pretty now.

At midnight, (the girls hardly left the dressing room for the entire 2 ½ hours), we began to pack up our things. The women were already excitedly planning the next time the Scarlet Hope girls would be back to visit.  Numbers were exchanged and friendships were made. As we walked out of the dark club, even the male bouncer said, “Next Wednesday, right?” We all piled in Rachelle’s SUV to make the drive back home, tired, happy, and reeking of smoke.

In spite of all my attempts to learn about the strip club industry, and my exposure to the sex industry, I have never, ever seen this side of it. These clubs are gritty. Mirrors are cracked, dressing room doors are punched through, and the smell of stale cigarettes hangs in the air like a fog. The women working in these clubs are not the towering plasticized glamazons portrayed in movies like “Showgirls.” They are missing teeth, sometimes overweight; they are in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. They are cellulite-dimpled and C-section scarred.  They are often abused, alone, and addicted. They struggle to pay rent, get evicted from their apartments, are mercilessly pimped by men who claim to love them, and are in dire need of basic needs, like working appliances and dental services. Make no mistake: They are strong, they are resilient, and they all are survivors. But they are hardly the women the world deems “beautiful” by its own standards.

Now, have you ever thought about the hands of God? We see them in Michelangelo’s famous painting “The Creation of Adam.” We see them on Christian bookstore cards and in advertisements, and as children we sing, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” But do we truly think about the hands of God?

The reality of this washed over me as I stood in a hot, cramped strip club dressing room as sweat dripped down my temples while I clutched a small flat iron. Amidst the smell of cigarette smoke and fried chicken, the Lord spoke to me. As I hunched over Bambi’s head, and alternately ran my fingers and the flat iron carefully through her thick blonde hair, I was dumbfounded with the realization: This is exactly where the holy, nail-scarred hands of our Savior would be. THESE WOULD BE HIS HANDS. They would be tenderly, lovingly caressing her hair as only an infinitely loving Father would.

Because He sees HER.

He doesn’t see her as some stripper; He sees her as one of the most beautiful things He ever created. He sees her as she is now: in her Lucite heels and cheap lace costume in the dank back room of a strip club – and she is beautiful. He sees her as she could be: healed, free, whole – and she is beautiful.

She is the one He left the ninety-nine for.

She is the one He pursues with reckless abandon, to whom He says, “I love you passionately, and I will never let you go.”

She is the one that He longs for, to woo and to love and to make whole.

And I find it to be the most beautiful thing in the world that the Lord made Himself so real to me in the back of a strip club. That He is THERE. That He has always been there, and He is not leaving anytime soon. His daughters are in there, and thought that any of His precious girls would be lost shatters his heart into the tiniest pieces.

But not only did I feel the presence of the Most High in that dressing room; I also saw Him. No – I did not have a vision, and I am neither prophet nor saint. But I saw, through the Scarlet Hope girls, the crazy, reckless, jealous love of the great Lover pursuing his Beloved. Week after week after week, meal after meal, club after club, they faithfully enter the clubs and minister to these women. They feed them. They wash their feet. They paint their nails and style their hair. They make them feel valued, special, beautiful. They LOVE them.

On the outside, it’s no different. They have lunch with the dancers. They babysit their kids. They find them jobs, places to live, transportation, resources. And when they don’t show up to their jobs, leave their kids for much longer than they said, relapse, and don’t pay rent, the Scarlet Hope girls don’t give up. They keep finding them jobs. They continue to care for their children. They pay their rent. They continue to say, in both words and actions, “You are loved.”

They. Do. Not. Give. Up.

They are living life with these women, walking with them on their life’s journey, and quitting is simply not an option.

I am so inspired. I am inspired to lead new name into being the kind of ministry that Scarlet Hope is – one of dedication, of fierce loyalty and commitment, of never giving up. I am inspired to push past what I do and don’t “feel” like doing and to turn my head, my hands, and my heart upwards instead. I am inspired to truly, passionately, relentlessly love.

And just as the Savior reached his pierced hand into the murky darkness of my world to claim me as His own, I am inspired to go into the darkness, time and time again, to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and once again to gently stroke the thick blonde hair of one of His precious, beautiful girls.

“You make me beautiful

You make me stand in awe

You step inside my heart, and I am amazed

I love to hear You say

Who I am is quite enough

You make me worthy of love and beautiful…”

– Bethany Dillon

When I was a kid, one of my favorite toys was an Etch A Sketch. If you've never played with one, it works like this. You turn the two white knobs in different directions to create a line drawing like the one in the picture. That was cool enough for us kids like me who lived in the pre-internet era. But the coolest part came when when you wanted to start a new drawing. A quick jiggle of the screen and the drawing would 'magically' disappear ready for a new picture.

What does an Etch A Sketch have to do with planning? It's a phrase I coined during my recent trip to Nicaragua.

In six days our team held three 1-day training conferences in different locations in the country for over 325 pastors and their wives. Being a meticulous planner, I had created a well-designed schedule for each day. The only problem? My view of time didn't sync with how the pastors and wives viewed it nor did it sync with how the three local pastors who sponsored the events viewed it.

I was literally forced to change our daily schedule every hour, sometimes as often as 5 times in an hour. For a recovering obcessive-compulsive, I was ticked. I had diligently prepared this schedule. We had lots to accomplish to finish at five each day. The speakers had prepared talks to teach. Our worship team had practiced songs to sing. But the people didn't show up until anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half late. And they took really long breaks. Early on inside I was yelling, "What's wrong with you Nicaraguans! Don't you wear watches?"

But God graciously moderated my inner voice and attitude and I realized I could learn a lot from how the Nicaraguans treated time.

For me, time has always been a commodity I didn't want to waste. I always felt that I waste time if I'm not always accomplishing some task or goal. I've also believed that people who are perpetually late aren't stewarding their time wisely. Although the two previous statements are often true, the culture I've experienced in my five trips to Nicaragua has helped me become less 'uptight' if sometimes my time passes without any appreciable accomplishment.

I believe these Nicaraguan pastors, as a whole, value relationships over tasks, perhaps more than we do in the United States.

If you are a pastor, you are a busy guy or gal. I know because I am one. It seems there's always more to do in ministry than time to do it.

But for me, I hope my Etch A Sketch planning experience will help me savor the relational moments that may show no immediate accomplishment. Perhaps Jesus had this thought in mind when he gently admonished Martha with these words.

... only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. (Luke 10.42)

Related posts: Strategic Planning for Dummies

For more Help and Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

Israel’s second king, King David, poses a question about character in Psalm 15.1, “God, what do you look for in those who draw close to You?”

He them summarizes the answer in the first part of verse 2 with the words ‘blameless’ and ‘righteous.’ The NASB version uses the word ‘integrity’ for ‘blameless.’

Psa. 15.1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?  2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart 3 and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman,  4 who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts,  5 who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

The verses that follow verse 1 describe a blameless-integrous-righteous person.

Take a moment and ask yourself if these qualities would accurately describe your leadership character. If not, what needs to change in you?

• I tell the truth. (v 2)
• I avoid gossip. (v 3)
• I protect the reputations of others. (v 3)
• I hate what God hates. (v 4)
• I show honor to the faithful. (v 4)
• I keep my word. (v 4)
• I’m fair with others. (v 5)
• I refuse to be manipulated. (v 5)

I love these this definition of sin from Susanne Wesley, the mother of Charles and John Wesley. We leaders would do well to heed her wisdom as we lead.

Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself.

For more Leadership Help and Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

I'm a pastor and I bought an iPad 10 days ago (16 Gig wi-fi version, the cheapest).

If you are a pastor, could an iPad help you become more effective? Maybe. Maybe not.

Although I'm only a little over a week into owning mine, this phrase captures my experience,"It has exceeded all my expectations."

What prompted me to purchase one?

First, it might help to know the technology I currently use. I am a shameless Mac fanatic and have bought probably 15 macs since the first one came out. I am the proud owner of one of the first 50,000 Macs ever sold. I still own it. My current Mac is a MacBook Pro (10.5.8) and I also own an iPhone 3g.

The most used software programs I've put in my Mac dock bar are:

1. Microsoft Office (I primarily use Word and Entourage)
2. Safari browser
3. Accordance Bible software
4. Libronix Logos Bible software (I purchased this after I had used Accordance for several years)
5. Appleworks (I still use the word processor sometimes)

Other software I often use includes: Tweetdeck, Contribute (to edit my website), iTunes (of course), Skype, and Filemagnet (iPhone document sofware). Since I bought my iPad I've added Evernote and Dropbox.

When Apple began to hint about a slate type computer, my imagination went wild hoping I could replace my notebook. When the iPad appeared, I tried to justify a purchase that could replace my notebook. But, I couldn't. I realized I would still need my notebook to manage my bible software.

So, what pushed me over the ledge? My wife said I could buy one. Really. She had to agree before I'd plunk down 500 bucks. In trade, I bought her a new car. Got to keep the marriage intact, you know. :)

A sidenote: my iphone 3g is ......s.......l........o.........w........ Drives me crazy and I wanted to use something FASTER. Wow, has the iPad met that expectation.

Here's how the iPad has benefited me thus far.

1. Lightning fast speed. In every respect, including internet access, the iPad is faster than my MacBook Pro. I've pondered having the, "Honey I really need a new MacBook Pro," talk with my wife, but I need to save that conversation for the new iPhone that comes out in June that I really want.
2. It's much quicker to type emails than typing them on my iPhone.
3. I can create documents in the Pages word processing app with a small bluetooth keyboard almost as fast as I can when I use Word on my MacBook Pro. It works quite well, although it's a stripped down word processor. Watch for developers to design some really good ones. I use Dropbox to keep my documents synced between my Mac and my iPad.
4. I've used Pages as a replacement for paper notes when I teach. I've only done this twice, so the full verdict is not yet out. However, it's so easy to make quick changes and it's really cool to flick your finger to move the page. This may prove to be the biggest benefit to pastors who use notes when they preach.
5. The big full screen is a HUGE improvement over the tiny iPhone screen. I love BibleReader from Olive Tree. It makes bible reading and devotional study very pleasant. Althought Logos is available for the iPad, it's only available via Wi-Fi. When the apps I use on my iPhone are available for the iPad, it will be hard to use the iPhone except in a pinch.
6. Battery life. I've found it lasts 8-10 hours.
7. Weight, light. I took it along with my bluetooth keyboard on my mission trip to Nicaragua last week and it was so easy to carry around and use compared to my laptop.
8. When I use my iPad, I feel very, very hip. As a 55-year-old, I need everything I can to be cool. Right now, I am the coolest person on our church staff, until the other guys get their iPads.

The downsides.

1. I'm still lugging my laptop around in my backpack (as well as the bluetooth keyboard). I still haven't determined my rhythm when I need my MacBook Pro and when I need my iPad.
2. No flash.
3. True multi-tasking is not yet available, but should be with the 4.0 firmware update in June.
4. Although I can post text to my blogs with the iPad, I can't use pictures. Not sure why.

So, that's it for now. In a month or so I'll write a part 2 and tell you what I think.

If you are a pastor and use the iPad, how has it helped you?

Related posts:

• A Great Journaling App for ipad/iphone
• iPad Preaching with a Virtual Whiteboard
• Interactive Preaching with the IPad
• How an iPad Improved my Preaching
• How an iPad Improved my Devotional Life

Yesterday over 50 pastors and their wives attended the first of our three 1-day pastor's conferences. I was humbled by their presence. These pastors serve small churches (50 people or less), are very poor, and don't own transportation beyond a bike. The night before (Sunday night) a deluge of rain washed out the road that lead up the mountain to the church where we held the conference. Because they count on small three-wheeled vehicles, called moto-taxis, to carry them up the mountain, they were stuck. Eventually the drivers themselves fixed the ruts and the pastors arrived.

We face a language barrier since only one in our team speaks Spanish. But the three translators we hired are quite good. One is not a believer and we are trusting God to open her heart to Him.

With no air-conditioning, the heat in the rooms we teach approaches 95. I taught the first session after lunch. You can imagine the challenge I faced contending with full stomachs, sleepy brains, the awkward delivery through translation, and the incessant heat. But, the Nicaraguans are a gracious people and all but a few stayed with me.

Our last session ended with a Q & A time. Mostly they told us how much they appreciated us coming. They loved our worship band. A few even asked Kyle Zehr, our worship leader, for the name of our band. They really rocked for Jesus (in Spanish).

A Final Thought:

The lunch we provided wouldn't pass muster for lunches served at pastors' conferences in the U.S. Those lunches usually consist of a nice boxed lunch with a deli sandwich, a Grey Poupon mustard and a lite mayonnaise packet, a bag of Sunchips, an apple, and a Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookie. And if that doesn't appeal, a quick run to the McDonalds or Appleby's just around the corner is an option.

The pastors' lunch? A scoop of spanish rice, a pice of white bread, and a cup of watered down cool-aid. Understand that we weren't trying to be cheap. But this lunch was probably a step above their normal lunch.

These servants of God who gratefully received their paper-plated lunches reminded me of this reality. The affluent culture in which we live can often blind us to the simple things in life that much of the world does not take for granted, like a bowl of rice.

Today, ask God to show you if you've taken anything for granted.

For more Tips and Help for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

I learned an odd thing about Nicaragua today. Insomniac roosters live here. At about 3 am this morning a rooster decided to flex his vocal chords, repeatedly for 4 straight hours. He is continuing his display even as I write this blog.

Fried pollo (chicken in Spanish) will be quite tasty for lunch. I recruited the security guard to help. He carries a quick load shot gun. Looking for a quieter night tonight. :)

On the serious side: This morning we will attend an English speaking church and tonight we will show the kid's version of the Jesus film (dubbed in Spanish). We will do a free raffle and give away some soccer balls as well as a gospel bracelet to each child. I'm praying that many kids will clearly understand the gospel and respond.

Tomorrow we begin the first of three 1-day pastors and wives conferences. We expect around 200 for the first. Then, tomorrow night we will show the adult version of the Jesus film.

A final thought: it's amazing how the soul feels cleansed without the incessant bombardment of man-made sounds. If you have a chance to be someplace without man-made sound, please do it. You'll be refreshed at your experience.

PS-as I finished this blog, unbeknownst to me, this rooster had made his way to the entrance of the church building where I was writing and scared the bejeebers out of me when he crowed, 3 feet away from me! I am not making this up. I feel like I'm being stalked.

For more Help and Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

Do your best and leave the results to God.

That phrase may seem a bit worn, but it’s well worth heeding. In Christ’s parable of the talents, the master, representing God, gave responsibility to the servants, us, based on individual ability.[1] The story implies us that some pastors (and people)  have greater competencies than others. Similarly, Paul teaches that the Holy Spirit gives out gifts as He sees fit.[2] It’s obvious that the Spirit gives some pastors extra preaching or leading gifts, evidenced in the size and impact of their ministries.

It’s easy to become discouraged when we do our best yet don’t see our church grow like others to which we may compare ourselves. When we wrap our identities around numerical results and the numbers don’t increase, the discouragement can overwhelm. This is especially true for older pastors who realize they may never achieve the dreams they had for ministry.

Author David Goetz wrote,

I often sat in the studies of both small-church pastors and mega-church pastors, listening to their stories, their hopes, their plans for significance. I deduced, albeit unscientifically, that often clergymen in midlife had worse crises of limits than did other professionals. Religious professionals went into the ministry for the significance, to make an impact, called by God to make a difference with their lives. But when you’re fifty-three and serving a congregation of 250, you know, finally, you’ll never achieve the large-church immortality symbol, the glory that was promised to you. That can be a dark moment—or a dark couple of years.[3]

However, noted theologian Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers fame recalled an experience he had when attending seminary. He wanted to hear a variety of preachers, so for a time each Sunday he visited different churches. One week he experienced “the most poorly crafted sermon [he] had ever heard.” A friend had accompanied him and when he turned to her, he found her in tears. She said, “It was exactly what I needed to hear.”

Rogers then told his audience, “That's when I realized that the space between someone doing the best he or she can and someone in need is holy ground. The Holy Spirit had transformed that feeble sermon for her—and as it turned out, for me too.”[4] Although the results from our best efforts may look feeble to some, they can touch a heart and change a life when we least expect it. This side of heaven we will never know the people we impacted through our faithful service.

This post was taken from my just released book, 5 Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them by Bethany House Publishing.

[2] 1 Corinthians 12

[3] David L. Goetz, Death by Suburb (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), 43.

[4] In Victor Parachin, “8 Ways to Encourage Your Pastor,” Today’s Christian, Sept/Oct. 1999. http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/1999/sepoct/9r5035.html?start=1.

For more Help, Resources and Books for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

This is a brief excerpt from my current book, 5 Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them-help for frustrated pastors.

Sometime in your ministry, someone  probably has taken an intentional punch at you. I don’t mean they punched you in the face, but they’ve likely taken a swipe at your leadership, preaching, or vision. It hurts. I believe the higher we go in leadership, the more punches we’ll have to absorb. Abraham Lincoln, arguably our country’s greatest president, took many punches, and his words carry a timely message for us.

If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how—the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what's said against me won’t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference.

I might add to this thought what a close friend once told me. “Even when church problems aren’t your fault, take the high road of grace and integrity as you respond to them.”

Related posts: When Pastors become Defensive, 5 Things NOT to do