This month, August 2015, we are doing something we've never done before, we are presenting hybrid "BEST OF" episodes! These four episodes for August have all new and current beginnings and endings, or "intro's" and "outro's", as we call them - but the conversation in the middle is from four of the very best from our first 130 episodes!
If you've been listening all along, you likely have heard these, but they are the episodes that have had the most traction and impact in the lives of our listeners. This episode is our conversation with Jonny's Dad on the issue of depression, as David Craig shares his own journey with depression, a journey he is still on! David writes about his story, through his novels in the "Buffalo Stampede" series of books he authored. You can access them through his website at www.davidccraig.net. If you are suffering with Depression, two other episodes that might interest you are Episodes 106 and 114.
Until very recently, Paul Kuzma has been on the pastoral staff of New Heart Foursquare Church in Simi Valley, CA. Paul was a staff member for the first twelve years, and lead pastor for the past seventeen years.
Paul is the creator of the PastorForLife.org website. Be sure to visit his website for his complete story, and much encouraging content! Paul is also a listener to our podcast, and has encouraged us on several occasions! Paul's story is the story of many pastors. It's a story of health, burnout, and health again - and a story of faithfulness to the local church and the Lord. A correction: Paul's story is similar, but many pastors don't make it back to the "health again" status. So this episode reveals how Paul, and his church, worked to get him back on track physically, spiritually, and perhaps most importantly, emotionally. Paul is also a ministry representative for Pete Scazzero's ministry, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. Paul and his wife are headed to the east coast soon to head up a retreat ministry location for their denomination. That will be the subject of a future podcast episode with him in the fall of 2015. Enjoy this episode with Paul, and our prayer is that you are both encouraged and helped by it, to avoid the burnout that plagues so many pastors!
What a wonderful, hope-filled conversation with a very good friend of small church pastors! Pastor Mike Ferguson, aka Dr. Mike Ferguson, is truly a pastor to pastors, who also has the education and credentials of an experienced psychologist.
While Mike has been a part of the AOG (Assembly of God) Churches for so many years - his heart for pastors knows no denominational boundaries. His heart is to help pastors who are battling a mental health crisis. Because Mike's story is also about battling a mental health crisis. His passion is to remove the stigma, embarrassment, and shame from anyone who struggles with their mental health. Dr. Mike brings a message of hope and healing. His passion is not only to equip pastors, but church leaders and lay leaders at every level. He wants to help churches become places that are friendly to those who experience mental health challenges. My own wife has battled a huge mental health challenge - and by close association (one flesh!) so have I. I (Jeff) have watched her suffer, not knowing why her brain would not align with her heart, wondering when the worry, the anxiety, and the sleeplessness would go away. Years ago, in ignorance, I would encourage her to just "think positive". We both learned the hard way, but we learned. I wish we had a person like Dr. Mike Ferguson in our lives at the time. Well, starting today YOU have a person like Dr. Ferguson in your life - in fact, Dr. Ferguson himself! He is available to you, and you can find him at DrMikeFerguson.com. Mike is also a suicidologist - so if you are struggling to that extent, or know someone who is, then Dr. Ferguson can also help you. We hope you enjoy this longer, hope-filled episode! Find Mike on the web in the links below.
Jeff and Jonny share a personal message on the very last day of 2014.
They talk about why small church pastors need so much encouragement. The heart of 200churches is to give MINISTRY ENCOURAGEMENT TO PASTORS OF SMALL CHURCHES! Why would they do that? Why would they target small church pastors? In this episode, they explain why. Jeff's son Doug sustained a traumatic brain injury in October and has spent the last ten weeks recovering. Jeff & Jonny's church graciously gave Jeff time off to care for Doug and for his family. Jeff has been very focused on his son's recovery and rehabilitation ever since, but they have kept up the podcast every single week. By the way, Doug is doing great and will return to normal life at college and work in early January, for which they are very thankful to God! Jeff has said that 200churches has continued to be a passion of his and Jonny's even though family and ministry events and surprises continue to come up. They know that all of you go through crises and trials as well, and they have wanted to continue encouraging you as a valuable leader in the Kingdom of God. We at 200churches want to wish all of you a very wonderful and blessed New Year - and we hope that you enjoy and are encouraged by this, Episode 102!
I (Jeff) enjoyed editing this podcast while my oldest son Joel, and I, stayed here at the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln NE with my middle son Douglas. Douglas is doing really well with rehab. His brother Joel is his most enthusiastic cheerleader, healthcare watchdog, and best friend. Joel communicates with the doctors and staff here with me and mostly for me. I have nothing to worry about with Joel at both my side and Doug's side.
So, while Jonny has recorded the intro and conclusion alone, I am here, in the background, listening and loving what we can provide to you today as a small church pastor. Remember, we are both small church pastors - and we love encouraging you - our small church pastor friends. I love Jonny going solo on this episode. He has done a great job. Chad Payne, pastor of New Life Assembly of God in Woodstock AL, friended himself into our lives and we are so glad we had this opportunity to talk with him on the podcast. And this episode with Chad Payne, just a faithful, loving small church pastor, who is committed to continued growth and learning, is our gift to you this week. As most of you know, since my son's accident on October 18, where he sustained a traumatic brain injury, life has been out of my control for the most part. So Jonny and I have been apart now for a couple weeks, but it is nice to know that you all are still with us, and that we can still connect with you. My many thanks to Jonny Craig and to all of you!
Episode 87 with Erik Anderson is a fast moving account of his journey to pastoral/personal health in ministry. Erik, Jessa, and their beautiful daughter Nosipho do life together in St. Paul, MN. From the Midwest, they spent six years in youth ministry in California before returning to the landlocked middle of the country.
Erik is the Senior High Youth Pastor at Crossroads Church in Woodbury, MN. If you really want to peek in on #theandersonwayoflife, you can find their blog here! They are a riot! Jessa is a fantastic photographer and you can see some of her work here. Erik and Jessa are ministry people. They pretty much live for Jesus/Family/Ministry/Kingdom/Love, and we're not sure they always know which sphere they're in! At the end of the podcast, Erik shares the four ways that he is currently trying to stay healthy in ministry - with you:
If you enjoy this episode, you'll absolutely love Episode 66 - How One Pastor Survived Burnout In His Urban 200church!
We talked to Kevin Pringle on the 200churches Podcast last Wednesday about.... burnout! I took it to heart this week, when I missed my usual Friday blogpost. I am about 70% through my spring semester of three courses, family is busy, church ministry is active, and I have too many irons in the fire, again. Some people have to learn the hard way. When one of my kids called with car trouble on the way home for the Easter weekend, I needed to leave and miss my usual Thursday night foray into the Friday blogpost. Wow, it's been a busy weekend. On a normal day, I would have just made it happen somehow, even from my phone. But it's not been normal lately.
So, I thought, before going to bed on Easter eve, I would just write a very, very short post and say that this is one of the ways one avoids burnout - you just have to scale back when life starts to overwhelm. Sometimes you cannot, but when you can, do it. I'm glad I did. This week we will be talking with Dave Jacobs, the Pastor's Coach. I think we are going to get a lot more good coaching from him and I can't wait. I need it! Happy Easter! Have a wonderful and life-changing Resurrection Sunday!
Kevin Pringle is our guest on today's podcast, Episode 66! Kevin is very candid with us as he talks about his leadership of his current 5-year ministry in Lincoln, NE. Kevin hit the ground running with this church plant, but it is in a very active community with many needs. After his first year, Kevin found himself on the brink of burnout, again. Recognizing those telltale signs of burnout, and not wanting to go to that party again, he took concrete steps to avoid it. He details his journey in this episode.
Today, Kevin has close friends within his church leadership, who support and encourage him, joining him in leading the ministries of the church. Kevin's wife, Beth, is her husband's partner as his Administrative Assistant. Kevin says Beth is the only paid staff that can actually fire him - as per a loophole in the church bylaws! Maybe not, but Beth keeps him honest, and together they lead and love their sons and daughters as together they form - TEAM PRINGLE!
Jonny and I had a blast with Kevin at our denomination's conference. He is a husband, father, pastor, leader, friend, and inspirer/encourager without our denomination! You will be encouraged and inspired as you listen to Kevin share his story of God's goodness in his life. Kevin joins all of you as a real, live, 200church pastor making a big difference in his community for the Kingdom! Disclaimer, I’m not certain I did! Then again, I never had to miss any work, and I did not see a doctor, so maybe I avoided it, or jumped out of the vehicle just before it went off the cliff. About six months ago, I woke up one morning and realized I only had one goal for the day – to be alive at the end of it! No kidding. I was honestly concerned that I might experience some type of malady, be it psychological or physical, that might sideline me that day. I prayed, breathed, and got out of bed. Needless to say, I did make it through that day. Here was the situation I found myself in that day. I was stressed for several reasons:
That November morning, I did not know what burnout felt like, I had never experienced it, but I thought I was getting close to it. Of course, I did not have time to burn out. You know, who has time for a nervous breakdown, midlife crisis, an accident, a serious illness, a divorce, or an unexpected emergency of any kind? I did not have the time or the luxury to walk away from any of my commitments, in my marriage, family, ministry, graduate work, or 200churches. I was getting to the brink, and it knew it, but I wasn’t sure what to do about it. I did not want to be another statistic. That November morning, I prayed. And, I told God – “this is serious!” Like he didn’t already know, right? I told him I just needed help to get through that day, and to make it through that particular time in my life. I did a couple things, and God did a couple things (but I will give all the credit to God, of course!) Here’s what I did:
Here’s what God did:
God allowed me to work with him to help me avoid complete burnout. Not to say I won’t crash sometime now in 2014 – but I don’t think I will. Every time we experience deep struggle, we get better and stronger. I’m still overcommitted, just not as much so. I have put a couple systems in place to help me, and I know that this summer I will finish my graduate degree and my load will get considerable lighter. If I may, let me share one observation: I have deep passion for the major areas of my life. Family, God, ministry, academics, and encouraging pastors of small churches through 200churches.com. When you are passionate about something, you will find energy and strength for it. If you are not passionate, you cannot drum up enough energy even for the smallest task, especially when you are in burnout mode. Make sure that the responsibilities you decide you need to keep, and are called to, are ones you are passionate about. Finally, if you are overwhelmed right now,
This Wednesday, episode 66 will feature our conversation with Pastor Kevin Pringle, an inner-city pastor from Lincoln, Nebraska. The topics we will touch on are burnout, equipping your people to serve and lead, and race in the church. Kevin shares his own story of how he was staring down burnout, and how he was able to avoid it. He is a happy, joyful, man of God! You will be encouraged as much by Kevin's ready laugh as you will the great message he shares! |
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