I Swore I Would Never Go Into Ministry…Now What?
I started in ministry reluctantly. In fact, my wife and I swore that we would never go into ministry at all.
Both of our fathers were ministers, and their ministries ended painfully. Additionally, we didn’t want to put any of our children through the stresses of ministry life that we had endured.
As you can imagine, swearing off ministry was just a pathway to repentance and learning to trust God further. Three years after our “vow”, I was in seminary, one year later, I became a ruling elder, and soon after, I was planting my first church.
Handling the Pressure of a Christmas Advent Sermon Series
I don’t know about you, but I always have a hard time preaching a Christmas/Advent series. There are not a great number of passages, and the stories feel so familiar. I wondered, “What new is there to say?”
In speaking with pastors, they have expressed similar struggles. Some pastors just skip an advent series all together and just keep with their ongoing series. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but some congregations really want that Christmas series. So, what to do?
The advice I received as I worked through these struggles, and the advice we give when coaching pastors, is simple: