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: ministry
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”
This Horse Is Very Much Dead, But Let’s Keep Beating It Anyway
It happened again. It didn’t surprise me, honestly. I was scrolling social media the other day and came across someone insisting that residential seminary education forms people for ministry much more effectively than hybrid or online programs. On the one hand, I understand this. These opinions always seem to come from clergy who had deeplyContinue reading “This Horse Is Very Much Dead, But Let’s Keep Beating It Anyway”
Jeffrey A. Nelson 