My Work with Pastors

The first call is always free, so if you’d like to explore the possibility of working with me the best approach is just to talk for a bit. I only want to work with those I believe I can help. The first call is about exploring what can of help I might offer you. If I don’t think I can support you and help to strengthen you as a pastor to a congregation, I will say so. We could even talk about what your next step might be.

The Support and Help I Can Offer:

Listening and Encouragement: Those just might be my greatest strengths. My wife would tell you that when you’re sharing something close to your heart with me, you’ll feel certain that all of me is with you.

The Political Landscape of a Congregation: I can help you think through the political landscape of your congregation and develop more effective strategies in your work. But I say that knowing effective ministry is not solely up to you. The congregation, and especially its leadership, have significant responsibility too. There are limits to what we can do. That said, I have a fair amount of experience, and people say I am a “systems thinker” which means I get how all the pieces fit together. I can be a second set of eyes helping you to maximize what you can do in your congregation.

Preaching: I’ve been teaching a section of the Introductory Preaching class at San Francisco Theological Seminary for 12 years. I love to do it; I learn more every year. I am confident that I can help preachers be more effective in the pulpit.

At a Moment of Growth in Your Life: The stress of a fractured church environment is often a moment that calls us to a new moment of growth, a new step in our faith. That is a painful reality. It is also true that as we grow and mature in our relationship with God, our congregations will reflect that growth as well. If you’re in one of those moments I would love to work with you as you make the shift to whatever is next. We all approach life from within long held assumptions, patterns of behavior and personality traits. Those things operate at a largely unconscious level. I work within a coaching model that makes those unconscious patterns, conscious so we have an opportunity to shift them. We do that while expanding while expanding our spiritual resources, drawing on the creative love and power we know in Jesus Christ. We grow when we engage in this work and a unique expression of the love of God will emerge. This isn’t the sort of thing we’d typically jump into right away. We’d want to talk about it for a while before committing to such work.

Two Areas I Would Likely Refer

While I have management skills, there are so many people that offer solid counsel on management matters that it is likely I’d encourage you to work with one of them.

I can involve myself with the governing council of your congregation but there are two reasons I might not want to support you in this way. First, there are very good and qualified church consultants out there who are more qualified to do this kind of work. Second, pastors often feel quite alone in their ministry, especially during a time of struggle. I would much rather be in your corner offering support and encouragement than being in the position of having to challenge you on some point the governing council has made. (That is not to say I’m unwilling to challenge you if I believe it is important to do so, it means that I would rather do that from a position where my loyalty to you is clear.)

If you need encouragement, I do that best of all.

Where, or Perhaps More to the Point, How I Meet with Clients: Of course seeing people in person is best, but I’ve found that Skype is an excellent way to do this work. The phone can work too, but of course there is always something missing if you cannot see someone’s face.

Cost: I work with a sliding scale from $150 to $195 per Session, a Session being generally a bit more than an hour. (I’m not “looking at the clock.”) How often we would meet is something we’d work out together. Perhaps your congregation, or someone in your congregation, or some denominational resource could help with the expense.

My Theological Perspective: I’d almost rather not say because it usually has little to do with the work I would do with you. That is to say that I’m not interested in pushing my theological point of view on you because I see genuine value in the chorus of voices that makes up the Christian church. So unless the work we would do together is related to a faith crisis, I’m not likely to share my theological point of view at all. It is I believe, impossible to offend me theologically. That said, while I’d be happy to talk to you if you’re a fundamentalist, it would be my guess that you would be happier working with someone else. But please don’t take that to mean that I will not do so. If you believe the Holy Spirit is prompting you to connect with me, I’m happy to explore that with you.

One Last Note

We do challenging work at a critical time. The work can be outrageously painful. That’s why we need to reach out for support. I understand the impact ministry can have on us. I understand it more than most, so I know it is possible that it has touched something very deep in you. It may have exposed something that makes you feel ashamed. So let me promise you this one thing: I will not judge you, period.