You know it’s going to happen. You can’t be a shepherd and avoid mediating in conflicts. That much is certain. However, your responses to conflicts are affected by a variety of variables, which makes your role as mediator far less predictable. For example: Personality variables (both yours and those involved in the conflict): Some people are shy; others are outgoing. … [Read more...]
When a person feels trapped but may not want to change, what do you do?
Andy Farmer’s pastoral ministry includes a lot of counseling, so he’s often had someone tell him, “Pastor, I’m trapped in this and I need help.” It led him to write a book about it: Trapped: Getting Free from People, Patterns, and Problems. Recently we talked with Andy about the best ways to respond pastorally. What are some common ways that people get trapped? The … [Read more...]
In This Together: Dr. Lee Spitzer
On Monday, we captured our second In This Together interview. Dr. Lee Spitzer, author of Making Friends, Making Disciples, joined us to explain the positive and often-overlooked effects friendships have on church ministries. I’d share video from the shoot, but our team is headed to California this week to record another In This Together interview. So for now, here are a few … [Read more...]
Caring for aging parents: 6 ways to prepare your people well
With such a large group of Baby Boomers getting older, there is also a larger number of middle-aged adults caring for aging parents. Many times, this is entered into with little forethought: a parent needs care, so the adult children are the ones to give it. And while most adult children anticipate a period of adjustment, few realize the true difficulties that caring for aging … [Read more...]
Why is it hard to get people to open up?
Why is it so hard to get people to open up? I asked Pastor Andy Farmer of Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA, to answer that question. He said the reasons why people are tight-lipped often have more to do with us than the people we’re trying to help. We should consider first how others view their relationship with you. Andy shared: Pastors presume they have a … [Read more...]
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