Episode Details

Send me a Text Message or ask a question. — Jerrie

Two years, 89 countries, and my promise: as long as one person is listening, I'll keep talking if I’m able. 

In this milestone episode, we look back at the conversations that resonated most — from a terrifying elders' meeting that caused nightmares, to observations about why elderships quietly fail, to one of the most tender questions a Christian can face: how do you respond when someone tells you they're thinking about suicide? 

It's part celebration, part greatest-hits, and part invitation — pick the story that hits you, and pass it on.

This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with the Ministry League Network.

Top 10 episodes for the past year

#10: 

What preachers wish elders knew about preachers — this episode tells how one preacher answered that question:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369804/episodes/17675906

Observations on a preacher moving — details I noted after talking with 16 churches over a period of four months while I was moving from one congregation to another:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369804/episodes/17508626

#9: 

Suicide questions — how’s a good way to respond to someone who tells you they're thinking about killing themselves? How do we answer the question about where a person goes in eternity after suicide?:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369804/episodes/18196159

#8

Is your preacher the PASTOR? — Often we object to calling our preacher, the pastor, what if he, in fact, is the main person who shepherds the sheep?:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369804/episodes/17210209

#7

Fleecy Clouds, forward and introduction — this is the recording of the audio version of Gail's book about her life, read by our daughter Christi Parsons:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369804/episodes/17154505

#6

If you appoint a new elder, I'll quit — this is a practice I began after moving in 1988, following conversations with 16 congregations:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369804/episodes/17509382

#5

12 leadership ideas — 12 ideas that you may not’ve thought about that can improve leadership in a local church:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369804/episodes/17563946

#4

First aid for gossip — where you find conflict in a church, you’ll also find gossip. How should we deal with that?: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369804/episodes/17567229

#3

You look weird!!! — one of the most unusual, upsetting elders meetings I ever attended. I had nightmares for three of the next four nights after the elders made a very unusual observation:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369804/episodes/17133181

#2

Elder's job description — one way I've observed elderships decline in effectiveness is by not holding one another accountable. One reason they don't hold each other accountable is that they don't define their expectations. This episode deals with a way to improve that situation:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369804/episodes/17634402

#1

Dealing with difficult people — using myself as a bad example, I reflec