• The Myth of “God Never Gives You More Than You Can Handle”

    The Myth of “God Never Gives You More Than You Can Handle”

    “God never gives you more than you can handle.” It’s a phrase used by many to try and comfort those experiencing loss or grief. It’s also used to help us step into the future with a bit more confidence and hope. The thing is, it’s not biblical. It’s also not…

  • Acknowledgments from My Doctoral Journey

    Acknowledgments from My Doctoral Journey

    As I prepare to [virtually] cross the stage as my Doctor of Ministry degree is conferred next week, I wanted to publicly thank all of those who aided me in getting to this point. The following post is actually the acknowledgments page of my final work, but most of you…

  • Christians, Give Yourself Permission to Mourn This Easter

    Christians, Give Yourself Permission to Mourn This Easter

    Easter Sunday is generally a day of light for Christian churches. We sing songs of joy, exclaim that “he is risen” and celebrate the risen Jesus that brings us all together. Often, Easter Sunday is one of the highest attended Sundays. Many churches find their pews/chairs full of congregants ––…

  • I Don’t Know What I’m Doing | Pastoral Reflections on COVID-19

    I Don’t Know What I’m Doing | Pastoral Reflections on COVID-19

    Just over three months ago I became head Pastor of a church, my first pastorate. The first few months went very well as I got to know the people in our congregation, became adjusted to crafting weekly sermons, and began to adjust to the rhythms of the congregation. Things were…

  • Journaling Through Life: Writing Things Down and the Power of Words

    Journaling Through Life: Writing Things Down and the Power of Words

    “As you move through this new stage of your life, I encourage you to buy a journal and write things down.” These were some of the first words I heard when I entered my graduate school education ten years ago. It was in a Q&A session with current students and…

  • Find Your Community: A Call to Ministers to Not Walk Alone

    Find Your Community: A Call to Ministers to Not Walk Alone

    Ministry can be a lonely place. For those who carry the title ‘minister,’ this reality is not a surprise. When you spend your day-to-day work pouring much of what you have into other people, there is often little left over for your own existence. I have served as minister for…

  • 8 Realities for Creating Internships That Matter

    8 Realities for Creating Internships That Matter

    Last week, a friend who works in an industry different from mine and I were talking about supervising interns. I’ve supervised graduate student interns for the last 8 years and we were discussing the best practices for making the internship experience a rewarding and educational one for both the intern…

  • Why I’m An Advocate for Campbell University

    Why I’m An Advocate for Campbell University

    I was recently asked to attend an advocacy event for my Alma mater. Unfortunately, I was unable to do so due to other events, but Campbell has been such a critical part of my development and career, that I wanted to still share why I still serve as an advocate…