Rowland Croucher
THOSE VISION STATEMENTS: THERE’S MORE TO THEM THAN MEETS THE EYE
If you are looking for the flavour of the month around many churches, go no further than the dreaming up of vision statements, the setting of goals and the identifying of measurable objectives. If you are really taking the Gospel seriously, you will surely be drafting up a directions manual for the next five years […]
PASTORS: HOW IS YOUR CAREER PATH GOING?
Most congregations have their own private collection of rising stars. They may be few or many. There may be a young lawyer or two. Perhaps an accountant, or youthful executive type. Within a year or two at most they are happily out-earning the pastor who has been on the job for half a life time. […]
THE DANGER OF SLOWING DOWN
Some pastors get high on people; others are totally absorbed in getting things done; a few respond to needs before they occur and are so far ahead they have planned the funeral service for the child they have just dedicated. Now not all of us are spiritual Ferraris but we do tend to measure our […]
Hormones and Ministry: A Good Mix?
Ministry has never been a hormone free zone. Sexuality has always been on the short list of occupational hazards for pastors. Our own culture remains preoccupied with sexual issues. The sexual freedom of the post pill, vasectomy and abortion eras has continued to stimulate lust rather than love, technique rather than understanding, adventure rather than […]
Yes, Pastor, But Do You Love Them?
The meeting was a tough one. The pastor and elders met to reflect on the growing unrest in the church. Harmony just now was eluding everyone. After the elders left, the pastor said quietly, “I think I know the real problem. It has just struck me. I do not love these people.” Despite several years […]
Coping with the Damaged People
The more effective the congregation is in reaching and welcoming all comers, the greater the likelihood of embracing a growing battalion of broken people all needing help of one kind or another. There is one group which is proving to be a genuine headache: they are the damaged people. The damaged people (DP’s) carry a […]
The Changes Life Brings To Us
It’s a long haul from the cradle to the grave. There’s much to learn, no end of mistakes to make, endless twists in the road and constant change. We recall the youthful, energetic, forays designed to bring in the Kingdom overnight. The world had fewer shades of grey then; the solutions were obvious; the possibilities […]
Pastors: Ten Things Your Congregation Probably Won’t Tell You
For all our talk about community and openness in the life of the church, when it comes to the crunch there are several no go areas. Like it or not there are some hot potatoes which few are game enough to address. Churches will simply not raise them with their pastors despite there being a […]
What Kinds of Pastors Are Our Churches Looking For?
What Are Our Churches Looking For? Over recent years the Pastoral Search Committees (PSC’s) of our churches have been encouraged to give very careful thought to the shaping of their pastoral profiles before undertaking interviews. The pastoral profile is a usually a comprehensive description of the qualities which the PSC is seeking in a new […]
Let’s Find Our Prophetic Voice!
When it came to recruiting prophets, the Almighty should have worked through a professional head hunting agency. Instead, He constantly got stuck with the retiring, the reticent, the young, the inept and the battler. As for terms and conditions, He never got it right. His prophets should have had Work Care, plenty of long service […]
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