I know. You're Zoomed out, and you have been for a while. And yet, most of these meetings have probably been with rotating groups of people or with fixed groups (such as your staff) for whom you've felt like you've had to show up as your best self. That's exhausting.

I want to offer something different - an ongoing small group with set participants in which you can bring your full self and real concerns and tap more deeply into your innovation and resourcefulness. These cohorts are intended to energize and empower you to lead and live well in our current reality. They will be:

Flexible in focus. The cohort will be geared toward the needs of the participants. (You can note some of those initial needs on the interest form.)

Facilitated to draw out and share your wisdom and strengths. The cohort is designed help you create the actions that will work for you and your context, on which you are the expert.

Intentionally ecumenical. Denominations can be small worlds, making it hard to know how much you can safely share. The cohort will be ecumenical so that you can feel free to be honest and so that you can learn how other denominations approach issues.

Mutually supportive. This cohort will not be a space to compete or call out but a place to encourage, get curious with, and gently challenge one another.

Cohorts will meet twice per month for an hour mid-June through mid-September (6 sessions), with the option to continue after those six sessions. There will be 4-5 participants per cohort, and the total cost will be $150 per participant ($125 for former/current coachees). We will gather by Zoom or Google Meet.

You can indicate your interest on this form, which will be open through June 8. I will then assemble the cohorts and contact participants to schedule meetings at times convenient for them. Once the cohort’s first gathering is set, I will send group information and a PayPal invoice.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions!

Yesterday a clergy friend shared this article about a church in Calgary. The congregation had gathered at 25% of the building’s capacity, observed social distancing, and was careful about handwashing. In other words, those present - none of whom had symptoms or had been around (to their knowledge) anyone with the virus - had taken all the precautions recommended at the time. Within two weeks, half of the attendees had tested positive for Covid-19. Two have since died.

This incident highlights the danger of gathering as church in person too soon. And yet, pastors are under duress to re-open as soon as possible. Some of the pressure comes from knowing that other sectors of society are easing restrictions. Some comes from church members, who are eager to see people they have missed and to enjoy the comfort and routine that worship offers. Some comes from ministers’ own worries that they will be perceived as too cautious or even lazy for not moving church back to the building at the first opportunity.

It is an odd sensation - and an emotional burden heaped on top of those that clergy usually bear - to know that our decisions have impact on people’s very existence. And yet, here we are. So how do we navigate the messages and lead faithfully at this critical juncture?

I am offering a group coaching session via Zoom on Wednesday, May 20, from 1:00-2:30 pm CDT. We’ll use this time to process the external and internal messages participants are receiving, consider what pastoral leadership looks like when ministers' decisions impact public health, discuss what that means for how you function with faithfulness during this time, and identify sources of support as you navigate the tension.

This session will be limited to no more than five participants. The cost will be $25, payable via PayPal or check. Registration is available here. If you have questions, I welcome you to contact me. Together we will reflect, learn, and reinforce one another's abilities to do hard things.

Let me be clear. Priority one during this pandemic is simply to make it through. If this is where you are hunkered down, then I say - with all sincerity - “You’re doing great. Keep it up.” Full stop.

If you have the privilege of breathing space, though, you might have some new awareness on your periphery. It might be about your own functioning or your call. It might be about your congregation’s resilience or the over-programming (now stripped away) that has been distracting from your church’s purpose. Whatever those foggy realizations are, they are Spirit promptings worth clarifying and holding onto for now and for the emerging new normal(s).

On Tuesday, May 12, I am offering a group coaching session to tease out and lock in these valuable gleanings. This call will take place 1:00-2:30 pm CDT by Zoom and is limited to five participants. The cost is $25 and will be invoiced through PayPal (payable through PayPal or by check).

If you’d like to get more information or register, you can do so here. If you have questions, I encourage you to contact me. I look forward to our time together to reflect, learn, and reinforce our ability to do hard things.

Recent scenes from my house:

I am sending emails from my desk, my seven-year-old curled around my feet as he plays with Lego minifigures.

I am wrestling internally with how hard to push my kid to complete the math worksheets assigned by his teacher, even as I seek to lower work expectations for myself.

I am coaching in my office, noting the sounds of my son humming the Jurassic Park soundtrack filtering through multiple walls.

I am closing the lid of my laptop as my child comes to me with a book and a need to snuggle.

I am wondering, as I drift off to sleep, how well I served anyone that day with my attention pulled in multiple directions.

Pastor-parents, I salute you. You are walking a tightrope right now, learning how to do - and doing - all the church things in new ways while your children also need your attention. And, of course, your own exhaustion requires tending as well. How do we strike that balance?

I am offering a group coaching session next Tuesday, April 28, in which we’ll work through that struggle for ourselves. How we want to show up for the people in our care (both at church and at home), what is essential to us right now for both pastoring and parenting, and what shifts would we like to make as a result? The session will take place 12:00-1:30 pm CDT via Zoom and limited to no more than five participants. The cost will be $25. Click here to sign up.

Pastor-parents - I see you. Thank you for the ways you care for the people in your personal and professional lives.

Maybe your pastor search was just getting up and running.

Maybe you were able to complete initial interviews by technology, but now you’re stuck at the phase when you’d normally invite one or more candidates for an in-person conversation.

Maybe your search team was about to introduce a candidate of choice for the congregation to meet and vote on.

And then…Covid-19. Everything shut down, and for who knows how long.

If your church (or a church in your care) is wondering whether to proceed with its pastor search - and what to do no matter the answer - this webinar at 7:00 pm eastern on April 20 and 23 can help. In this one-hour offering, participants will be introduced to the factors to consider and ways to move ahead with searches if they so choose. There will also be space for participants to ask questions particular to their contexts.

This webinar will be offered by Laura Stephens-Reed, creator of Searching for the Called, a pastor search process geared toward hospitality to voices in the congregation and community, the candidates' gifts and experiences, and the Holy Spirit. Laura is a minister and a clergy and congregational coach who has worked with pastors and churches across the ecumenical spectrum.

The cost for this webinar will be $15 per participant or $50 for 3+ search team members. Each participant will receive the 1-page document "Searching During a Strange Season: Questions to Reflect on When Searching During a Pandemic." Registration is available here.