This is one of the most talked about and striking questions in the self-care inventory.  As I write this, we are experiencing an unprecedented pastor crisis in the United States. Many pastors have just had enough, regardless of whether or not they fell called or trapped.  Ministry is not easy and it is not like […]

Check out this reflection from the website for Preparing for Amazement Ministries.

My youth leader in high school always encouraged me to be a FAT Christian: -Faithful -Available -Teachable Sure, its cheesy, but its also accurate. For me, it was also effective. Today, I do not have to think about these things (that is not to say that I have perfected them), they are a part of […]

Below is a post I wrote for Preparing for Amazement Ministries Messages for the Younger Marcus In line with a blog post written by one of our coaches, Jessica Carlson, I thought it would be good to share the messages I would give to the younger me after more than 25 years in ministry. Find […]

Recently a young leader asked me what were some of the key things they needed to know about leader health. I was not prepared for it, but here was my list. Sabbath. Seriously. Self-knowledge is critical. Health Trumps.  What would be your list?

We have in our lives many ceilings, including in the area of self-care.  Self-knowledge determines the height of many of our ceilings. There is a direct correlation between our self-knowledge and our effectiveness.  There is a direct correlation between our self-knowledge and our ability to grow.  There is a direct correlation between our self-knowledge and […]

Below is a link to a blog written for Preparing for Amazement Ministries on why I have quit church jobs over the year. Thought it might be worth sharing. Why I Quit Church Jobs

Self-care isn’t selfish. You probably know this is true, and most would not challenge this notion. While we might not openly disagree with this statement, internally we live in a way that embraces it. Often, the not so direct comments and expectations of others also affirm the falsehood that self-care is selfish. Self-care is something […]

One the key tools for self-care is setting, maintaining and enforcing boundaries. We live in a culture, even in the church where we do not value boundaries. In fact, the church is terrible about boundaries, seeing the word ‘no’ as some sort of statement of lacking commitment or faith. The people who struggle with boundaries […]

Its common to make new resolutions each year. While a new calendar year can be a helpful and natural time to make some changes, as leaders we should look to change things when e notice that they are an issue. Each year does provide us an opportunity to think about how we can have greater […]