As we drove last summer toward a hidden lake among the mountains of Northern Colorado there was the beauty of the forest surrounding us. Tall dark green pine trees on both sides of the road clinging to the sides of the mountains. It was a magnificent sight to see until we came into vast expanses of burned pine trees standing up from the ground like toothpicks. The evidence of forest fires from previous years went on for miles. The ground was also littered with fallen trees that had slid down the mountains and hills, making the beauty of the landscape dissipate to a very disturbing sight.

Trapper’s Lake

A few minutes into our hike I noticed patches of trees that had been saved from the forest fires, but all around them stood the skeletons of the forest. The burned trees stood as monuments of a life that once was vibrant…

Hello all! I want to introduce you to Tricia, who is a pastor’s wife in Kansas. She and her husband have been in full-time ministry for only 15 months. Tricia’s new ministry in Kansas has changed her outlook on hospitality and that is why I wanted to share her testimony and hospitality tips with you.

From Tricia:

Hospitality according to the Webster’s Dictionary, is “the generous and friendly treatment of visitors and guests.” According to the Apostle Paul, we, as saints, should be “given to hospitality” (Rom 12:13). In our busy and hectic lives, have we forgotten the Lord’s command to love and serve one another?

I have to be honest, I did not learn hospitality from my mother. Don’t get me wrong, my mother loved to cook and bake. She was generous with her creativity and loved to coordinate parties and get-togethers. But stop by my house unannounced, and…

This post is addressed to staff members, not necessarily the pastor and his wife, but people who serve alongside a pastor with other staff families to help you know how to have good expectations with those you work with.

There is always transition of getting to know the people already working at the church or those that come into a position after you do. It takes time to know who they are and their personalities. Many people are disappointed with the personalities of their peers immediately while other people have a honeymoon of loving who they work with UNTIL (key scary dramatic music here) personality conflicts arise.

Being on church staff is no light matter.  Learning to have the right expectations of your fellow staff members will help you be able to manage relationships and seek peace. Without peace there is confusion and every evil work (James 3:16) and the…