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Pardon Our Dust

Over the next week or so, you may have some issues loading the blog.

As I shared previously we are moving to the Rookie Pastor brand. Since I have a liberal arts degree and not a computer science degree the I miss the nuance of databases, domain migration, and CSS.

Slowly but surely, and with the help of friends and the IT folks at Dreamhost.com we are getting there.

What does this change mean?

  • A sharper focus for young leaders in ministry and those entering into new roles in ministry
  • More contributions from others, particularly the O.G. Rookie Pastor, David Norman
  • Trimming the fat off the archives
How can you help?
  • Like the Facebook page at the right
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Submit ideas for a guest post to josh.tandy@gmail.com

July 15, 2011 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Advice for a Rookie Pastor

A friend and fellow Rookie Pastor called me today, and needs some advice and probably your prayers.

This past May he graduated from college.

A few weeks after graduation he went across the country to be a Youth Pastor at a church plant.

The Lead Pastor is a mentor in his life.

The church has been struggling and wasn’t able to pay my friend much.

A few days ago the Lead Pastor shared that he is probably leaving in a few months.

Later this year my friend is getting married.

 

I think this story is all too common, which is why I wanted to share it here. My guess is that there are people here who have experienced something similar to this in ministry. And I know that my friend and others would benefit from you sharing your story.

 

July 14, 2011 in Encouraging, Practical with 2 Comments

Don’t Be Afraid of New

Yesterday it was Twitter.

Today it is Google+.

Tomorrow it will be something else.

This isn’t a how-to post on maximizing the newest social network, and it isn’t a post decrying how social networks destroy authentic relationships.

What this is an encouragement to the hesitant and a reality check to the proud.

Continue Reading…

July 13, 2011 in Challenging, Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Becoming a Better Preacher: Solicit Real Feedback

This is part of a larger blog series on Becoming a Better Preacher.

Your grandma doesn’t count.

As a teenager I had the opportunity to preach at my home church. It was a small church that hadn’t changed all that much in my lifetime so when I would get up to preach I would look out at people I knew well.

In the front row was an older gentleman who was always at the front door ready to shake your hand and welcome you to church. Consequently he was also sure to tell me how good of a preacher I was after the sermon. Except he fell asleep during every sermon I gave.

People are nice, so find the honest ones.

After you preach don’t sit in the comfort of handshakes and smiles, find the person who will tell you the truth.

Continue Reading…

July 12, 2011 in Practical with 2 Comments

Introducing Rookie Pastor

I am so excited to announce the start of a new chapter for this community.

Pastors in Process is becoming Rookie Pastor.

David Norman started Rookie Pastor at the beginning of this year with the intent of creating a place for people new to ministry or new to ministry roles to learn from one another. I quickly found that our two blogs had much in common. So when David announced that he was letting Rookie Pastor go, I approached him with an idea.

What if we merged these two communities and David became a contributor to the new RookiePastor.com?

David has graciously accepted and in the coming weeks and months you will see the changes in focus and design.

Once up and running both URL’s will always take you to the same place, the new RookiePastor.com.

My intention is that readers of both Pastors in Process and Rookie Pastor will find this community to be informative, encouraging, and challenging.

July 11, 2011 in Encouraging, Uncategorized with 9 Comments

In Case of Emergency, Remain Calm

We read and hear these odd warnings about remaining calm all the time. Rarely do we get to find out if we would actually remain calm.

Yesterday at church during the beginning of our second of three services I was handed a note that said something to the effect of “power line smoking, need to move cars”. So during my welcome spot a few minutes later I got to ask people to move a few cars, right after I dismissed students to groups and set up the offering.

When I walked out to see for myself a transformer on a pole was smoking and leaking some sort of fluid on several cars. The power company was called and power was shut off before our 3rd service.

You can read the entire story about how we did church in our cafe that 3rd service on Cameron Sprinkle’s blog. It truly was a powerful experience for all involved, and it made me love my church all the more.

 

Continue Reading…

July 11, 2011 in Encouraging, Practical with 0 Comments

Becoming a Better Preacher: Listen to Yourself

This is part of a larger blog series on Becoming a Better Preacher.

I was 18 and I had already preached a handful of times at my home church. My prior experiences didn’t make me a better preacher, they made me a prideful preacher. Instead of carefully working through my central analogy as I prepared I decided to wing it.

What resulted was a meandering series of comparisons to the movie Braveheart and the interplay of good and evil in following Jesus. It was painful and as the words left my mouth I knew I wasn’t being clear. Later that day I knew it was bad, but a few days later when I listened to a recording of the sermon I realized what an unmitigated disaster it really was.

Continue Reading…

July 8, 2011 in Practical with 3 Comments

Student Ministry Moving from Retreats to Service

A lot of people I know who get into student ministry with the intent of creating an experience similar to a positive experience of their own. This is a natural tendency and in general a positive.

The main problem with this is we are slow to pick up on changes in a student’s thought process. Since we assume that our experience was somehow the pinnacle we want our students to experience something similar.

 

As a student the highlight was always going on a retreat or to a conference. Being able to worship with hundreds or other students or to be inspired by powerful teaching became the catalyst for how I would live at home. Having these experiences I assumed that a teenager today would be drawn to something similar.

Except I am starting to see students’ excitement for this sort of trip wane.

Continue Reading…

July 8, 2011 in Uncategorized with 2 Comments

Becoming a Better Preacher

I can’t wait to dive into this blog series as over the next few weeks I explore some aspects of becoming a better preacher.

If you work for a church, chances are you preach.

It may not be on Sunday morning but you are required to preach to students, kids, adults in between worship songs, or in a small group. Communication is essential in ministry and for Rookie Pastors the challenge is to find ways to hone and develop the craft that is preaching.

At the core of preaching are the disciplines of prayer and reading scripture. Beyond this foundation you are left with high stakes public speaking.

This will be the landing page for this series. The below list will expand as we go and links will be added as each post gets published.

  1. Listen to Yourself
  2. Solicit Real Feedback
  3. Public Speaking Books are your Friend
  4. Maximize Your Notes
  5. Practice in Front of a Mirror
  6. Have a Dress Rehearsal
  7. Props, Videos, and Cheesy Object Lessons
  8. Listen to a Heretic
  9. Say it in a Sentence
  10. Use Someone Else’s Notes
  11. Concise, Doesn’t Mean Short
If you have any tips or best practices use the comments below to share.

July 7, 2011 in Practical with 11 Comments

Ron Edmondson’s Advice to Rookie Pastors

Ron Edmondson is a pastor and a blogger whose insight on ministry and leadership is a valuable resource for Rookie Pastors. Recently he shared 7 insights for someone preparing to be a pastor. The entrepreneurial and business slant is obvious, but even if you don’t agree with that presupposition there is wisdom here:

If I were studying to be a pastor today, in addition to preparing my heart and mind spiritually, which is still most important, I would:

  • Take some business and/or leadership courses
  • Build Connections
  • Participate in social media and understand basic technology
  • Work a secular job
  • Take a people-helping or counseling course
  • Find a mentoring pastor
  • Embrace accountability
The entire post and his explanations of each point can be found here.

July 6, 2011 in Practical with 2 Comments

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