Back when Don and I met, long before the internet and its immediate correspondence, we wrote a letter to each other once a week. Later, letters became tagged ‘snail mail’, partly because of the time it took to travel to its destination and partly because, if it lay in a damp letterbox overnight, the snails would eat holes and leave

Today’s video blog I am chatting with Dr Chris Adams, Associate Professor and Executive Director, Center for Vocational Ministry AZUSA Pacific University. I met Chris when he was presenting in the “Health of a Leader” D.Min class at Fuller Seminary. Chris shares from his extensive research keys to flourishing in ministry. We flourish through growing self-awareness. How to build self-awareness?

KEITH FARMER’S STORY – burnout, recovery and mentoring Today’s guest blogger: Dr Keith Farmer. I had been in full-time ministry for 11 years (in two churches in Sydney) when I accepted a dual ministry in Melbourne (half-time as an Associate Pastor in a local church and half-time as a Faculty Member of a Theological College). My teaching areas were Pastoral

Identifying your core values and beliefs. By the time I met Adrienne (we married in 1979), I knew that my life would be spent helping people to know God. Finding God had changed my life and given it purpose and meaning. In planning for marriage, we chatted about how this would impact our children. It saddened me when I met

How are your key relationships? Along with living a life of purpose where gifts and goals align, a key to thriving* is having great relationships. Relationships that experience a healthy level of connectedness provide an atmosphere that enables us to thrive. We flourish with the right conditions. Similar to an orchid plant in an orchid house, where moisture and temperature

What is your purpose? A big key to thriving* is living with purpose. People who don’t have a purpose or have lost purpose will not live their best life. Without purpose, life focus becomes surviving and is far from thriving. You are a masterpiece created to do wonderful things. Discovering your purpose will put energy into your soul and vitality

As we came to the six-week mark of James’ passing, it seemed that life is returning to normal. I am grateful that people still ask how are you doing? While I recognise that sometimes I am not doing well, I’m grateful to be able to say, that most of the time I am doing ok. I often answer, “The time

Do you let others see when it’s tough? In May of 2019, we had a family tragedy. Our grandson James was stillborn. No cause is known, his heart just stopped beating. It was such a shock. No words. Very early on, as we started to contact people and let them know, I was faced with a choice. What would be

Do you let others see the real you? Do they know how you are really doing? One of the constant comments I get after I talk about my journey of burnout is “thank you for your transparency.” Transparency is helpful because others can get help from what you have been through. Being real and authentic is powerful. Was I always