How to Ask Your Pastor for Continuing Ed Money (Pt. 1)

How to Ask Your Pastor for Continuing Ed Money (Pt. 1)

Are you wondering what happens to all the continuing ed dollars in churches across the country that weren’t spent in 2022? Yeah, me too. If you’re like me, at some of the churches where I’ve worked, those budget dollars don’t roll over.  And if you’re like me, at other churches where I’ve served, they never…

How to Ask Your Pastor for Continuing Ed Money (Pt. 2)

How to Ask Your Pastor for Continuing Ed Money (Pt. 2)

Welcome back! In part one of this resource, Anthony Prince and I (Brandi Kirkland) shared thoughtful ways to ask for continuing ed and professional development funds. While the way you ask might depend on the what you’re asking for, there are definitely some similarities in approach, regardless of the what. But where there are nuances…

Building Ministries vs. Making Disciples

Building Ministries vs. Making Disciples

Full disclosure: I think leaders and pastors fall into the trap of focusing more of their time on building ministries than making disciples. It is not that leaders and pastors don’t think discipleship is essential, but the reality is that discipleship does not pay the bills. The commitment to discipleship is time and energy-intensive, ultimately taking time and energy away from the ministries we are paid to oversee. As a result, discipleship takes a back seat to most everything else. 

How to Do 18-24 Months of Sunday Morning Sermon Prep

How to Do 18-24 Months of Sunday Morning Sermon Prep

It’s Friday, and it happened again. You’re sitting in front of your laptop trying to come up with something to preach on Sunday. Your mind is blank. Your soul is dry. You’re frustrated and angry for getting to this point again. You were so excited earlier in the week about what you wanted to share. Now, you don’t want to be here, stuck doing sermon prep. It’s the weekend and there are other things you’d rather be doing. All the while your cursor is blinking, “You’ve got nothing. You’ve got nothing.”