One of my favorite sayings in ministry is, “this is not about that.” That is, whatever the presenting issue is (a complaint about a tablecloth shortage for an upcoming dinner, for instance), is really about something else that won’t be as apparent (worries over finances that have resulted in no tablecloths). People decide it isContinue reading “Your Pastor Is Not a Scapegoat”
Tag Archives: church
Failing Church Syndrome
In his book Kitchen Confidential, the late Anthony Bourdain describes a phenomenon that he calls “Failing Restaurant Syndrome:” I began to see, for the first time, what I would later recognize as Failing Restaurant Syndrome, an affliction that causes owners to flail about looking for a quick fix, a masterstroke that will “turn things around”,Continue reading “Failing Church Syndrome”
A Prayer in the Garden
based on John 20:1-18 Faithful God, we confess we don’t know what’s happened. We’ve heard the news from women and angels alike, but there’s so much we still don’t understand. We’re wondering how it’s possible, and about what it means. Our sense of the world has been turned upside down, and it may be aContinue reading “A Prayer in the Garden”
Jeffrey A. Nelson 