Your Nervous System Needs a Pastor Too
PQ, Sleep, Anxiety and the Body That Does Ministry “In seminary, they told us to be the least anxious presence in the room, but they never told us how to do that. This program has taught me how to do that and so much more! I am transformed with renewed confidence and creativity! Thank you!” […]
Take a Reading Retreat
I am an introvert who has spent a lot of time peopling this summer. Collectively I have spent just over a month away from home; at camps, on a mission trip and a family road trip. It is past time for a little me time to refresh and reset before fall kicks off. While that […]
Gratitude and the Non-Anxious Pastor
Reclaiming Joy When Ministry Feels Heavy November invites us into gratitude. But if you’re honest, gratitude might not be the first word that comes to mind when you survey the landscape of your ministry right now. Maybe it’s exhaustion. Or frustration. Or that low-grade worry that’s been running in the background for so long you’ve […]
PQ as Spiritual Practice
What Neuroscience and the Gospel Have in Common I want to address something I hear occasionally when I introduce PQ to pastors: a hesitation. “Isn’t this just psychology?” “How does this fit with faith?” “Should I be concerned that this is secular?” It’s a fair question, and I want to answer it honestly. Yes, Positive […]
Cross Stories
by Bethany Walker I have watched many a pastor work over overtime (I just decided that’s a thing) during the Lenten season as they lead double the worship services each week and then also try to write a meaningful daily devotion to share with their congregations. During Covid, as a way of trying to foster community from […]
The Long Game
The Long Game Why Sustainable Ministry Is a Multi-Year Journey We live in a culture that celebrates quick results. ”Three steps to a better sermon”. “Five keys to church growth”. “The 30-day plan to pastoral renewal”. And while short-term tools have their place, there’s something that often gets lost in our rush for rapid improvement: […]
PQ and Your Relationships
How Quieting Your Inner Voices Changes the People Around You Here’s something that surprises almost everyone who goes through the PQ program: they came in thinking it was about them — their anxiety, their performance, their inner voices. And it is. But somewhere around week three or four of the program, they start noticing something […]
Right Answer, Wrong Question
Written by: Pastor Bethany Walker I’m not sure where I first heard two things that recently came together in my mind: If you get the right answer to the wrong question you still have the wrong answer. The question isn’t what do our church members want but rather what do our neighbors need? I heard […]
Conflict Without Casualties
Leading Through Church Conflict with Clarity and Grace Church conflict is one of the most painful — and most common — experiences in pastoral ministry. It’s also one of the most avoided. We tell ourselves that if we just love people enough, or pray hard enough, or give it enough time, it will resolve on […]
Meet Your Sage :The Wisest Part of You Has Been There All Along
Over the past several months, we’ve been spending a lot of time with the Saboteurs — the Judge, the Pleaser, the Avoider, the Stickler, the Hyper-Achiever. If you’ve been following along, you may have recognized yourself in some of these voices and thought, “Well, that’s a little uncomfortable.” Good. That awareness is exactly where transformation […]
