As of October 1, 2023, my weekly articles will be posted only on Substack. I have been playing around with Substack, cross-posting articles there and here on my website for the past couple of months. I’ve found that I really like it over at Substack because 1) it is even more flexible and user-friendly than Squarespace and 2) there’s a greater potential to build community. Here’s what you need to know:

• I will still update the rest of laurastephensreed.com regularly.

• Entries on my laurastephensreed.com blog will remain here. I will not migrate or delete them.

• If you are a subscriber to my laurastephensreed.com blog, I have switched your subscription to Substack for you.

• If you are a subscriber to my monthly Mailchimp newsletter, I will not automatically add you to my Substack. (You are certainly invited to join me over there, though!) I will continue to send out a monthly newsletter, because I think that’s a better place for announcements than Substack is.

• There will be free and paid subscription options on Substack. With your free subscription you’ll get new content every Tuesday like I’ve offered here. With a paid subscription you’ll get an additional article, resource, or giveaway once a month that is exclusive to those who opt for a monthly ($7) or annual ($60) plan.

Questions? You’re always welcome to contact me!

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash.

I have been playing around with Substack, cross-posting articles there and here on my website for the past month. I’ve found that I really like it over at Substack because 1) it is even more flexible and user-friendly than Squarespace and 2) there’s a greater potential to build community. Over the course of September, then, I will begin migrating my current writing to Substack. Here’s what you need to know:

• I will continue cross-posting articles for September. Starting in October I will post new writing only on Substack. (I will still update the rest of laurastephensreed.com regularly.)

• Entries on my laurastephensreed.com blog will remain here. I will not migrate or delete them.

• If you are a subscriber to my laurastephensreed.com blog, I will switch your subscription to Substack for you.

• If you are a subscriber to my monthly Mailchimp newsletter, I will not automatically add you to my Substack. (You are certainly invited to join me over there, though!) I will continue to send out a monthly newsletter, because I think that’s a better place for announcements than Substack is.

• There will be free and paid subscription options on Substack. With your free subscription you’ll get new content every Tuesday like I’ve offered here. With a paid subscription you’ll get an additional article, resource, or giveaway once a month that is exclusive to those who opt for a monthly ($7) or annual ($60) plan.

Questions? You’re always welcome to contact me!

Photo by Erda Estremera on Unsplash.

Many of the pastors I talk with are operating within viewing distance of overwhelm, that fog of fatigue and disorientation that can’t be fixed by a good night’s sleep, a vacation, or maybe even a sabbatical. They want to remedy this situation, but all the demands on them are so tangled that it’s hard to know which one to pull on first.

In March I am offering a four-week cohort to help pastors think about where they might tug on a thread to begin not just to unravel their overwhelm but also to build toward ongoing wellbeing. The timing of this cohort is intentional. It’s designed to see you through the first half of Lent and give you tools as you approach Holy Week, often one of the busiest weeks of the year for clergy.

We will use these four weeks to consider the points along the Results Cycle, a model developed by Thomas Crane:

If the current result we’re getting is that sense of overwhelm, then we can intervene anywhere else in the cycle to get a different outcome. In week one, we’ll talk about what the result is that we do want - what is our understanding of, our purpose in, our ministry? In session two we’ll examine and replace the beliefs that keep us locked in overwhelm using Martin Seligman’s three Ps (personalization, pervasiveness, permanence) as a framework. For our third gathering we’ll consider our tolerations (in other words, what we’re putting up with) and take steps toward habits and systems to eliminate them. And in the final week we’ll think through strengthening relationships via setting and communicating boundaries and guardrails. The goal of each cohort meeting is to find one small tweak that can make a big difference in how we move about the world.

Of course, the real benefit of this cohort is the participants - the shared wisdom and companionship you will offer one another. I will provide tools and the space, but you will bring the oomph, the encouragement, the heart. Together we will find daylight through the soupy fog.

Find out more and register by March 1 here.

I recently interviewed several pastors for a Doctor of Ministry class assignment. My topic was how the shift to virtual/hybrid ministry during Covid has impacted pastors’ role and vocational identity. Some of these clergy have found renewed hope and purpose in the midst of the chaos. Some of them feel like they have been robbed of the joy of ministry and are hanging on to their jobs by their fingertips. All of them, though, talked in some way about the overwhelm that the pandemic has prompted: the expansion of their position descriptions just as other responsibilities (such as caregiving) ballooned, the decision fatigue, the million mini pivots in ministry, the arguments over Covid precautions, the reduced access to typical stress-reducing strategies, the increased profile and accompanying performance anxiety that has come with uploading or livestreaming worship. The struggle is very, very real.

On Thursday, February 10, I will be joining my clergy colleagues Heidi Carrington Heath and Callie Swanlund in offering a workshop about dealing with this overwhelm. Callie, a Brene Brown Daring Way Facilitator, will help us differentiate between stress and overwhelm. Heidi, a spiritual director and writer, will provide tools for spiritual resilience. I will share a wellbeing assessment to help participants untangle their overwhelm and reclaim agency and presence. And that’s just the first 30 minutes! We’ll take a break after the panelist presentations, then move into 45-minute breakout sessions for deeper dives into the material and for group engagement. After the workshop, participants will have the option to join a 4-week cohort led by one of the three presenters to continue applying insights and tools.

The workshop on February 10 is being hosted free of charge by Practical Resources for Churches, and everyone who registers will receive a recording of the introductory 30-minute panel discussion.

You are not alone in your overwhelm. You also don’t have to stay mired in it. Join Heidi, Callie, and me to begin finding your way out. Register today for the overwhelm workshop.

Pastors, you rock.

You really do. As unbelievable as it sounds, I think 2021 has been an even harder year to be in ministry than 2021. There has been so much more ambiguity. Some people are vaccinated yet others are not, whether by choice or circumstances such as age. What does that mean for what we can safely do? There has been more unpredictability. The Covid numbers were good in many places in May and June, then Delta brought us to our knees starting in late July. Statistics have improved in some locations since then, but many experts predict upticks as the weather turns colder. How will that impact Advent and Christmas observances? There has been more fatigue. Yours, for sure. But your church folks are also weary of hearing about Covid, living with Covid, and changing precautions at Covid’s whims. How will you persist in keeping people safe, and where will needed rest come from? There has been grief. Some of the people we had hoped to see back in the pews by now are not and might not ever be. The shape of the church we’ve known and loved is being fundamentally altered. What will it ultimately look like?

Despite all these trials and more, you have hung in there. Thank you for your faithfulness and hard work! AND, make sure you have the support you need as you continue to lead through ongoing challenge. Every December I offer a “round up” special: I will round the amount left in your professional expense line item up to the next session value. My intent has always been to keep you from leaving any of your hard-earned benefits on the table and to encourage you to invest in your leadership growth for the coming year. I can’t imagine a better time to hit both of these marks. While it’s important to steward your church’s money well in these uncertain times, it’s also essential to use your available resources to prepare to pastor in a rapidly-changing world. Coaching is a great way to do that, because it

• is done remotely,

• takes place at your pace and on your schedule,

• is geared toward reframing your situation in helpful ways,

• helps you make positive steps forward, and

• can be completely customized to your goals, leadership style, and context.

If you are looking to make progress in such areas as

• finding a good oscillation between caring for others and caring for yourself,

• developing and grounding yourself in your pastoral identity when others are projecting their anxieties about the state of the world on you,

• searching for a new call and/or leaving your current one,

• helping your church members engage well among themselves when some are in person, others are online, and a few have disappeared into the ether,

• addressing conflict that has been exacerbated by the troubles of the past 18 months,

• dreaming about what is now possible that wasn’t before change was thrust upon us,

coaching can help.

The round-up special is valid in December only. Contact me or schedule a free exploratory call by December 30 to take advantage of this offer.

Several years ago many of my pastor peers started going back to graduate school, some in ministry-related fields and others in programs outside the purview of seminaries. I cheered them on, and I knew that at that time, a focus on academics was not for me. I might someday pursue a Doctor of Ministry degree, I thought, but not unless I had a particular issue that I wanted to address through studies and a capstone project.

And then, pandemic. The changes that were in (very) slow progress in the Church were propelled forward. That push was - and is - painful for both ministers and their ministry settings. There is no going back, but we all remain uncertain what moving forward faithfully might look like. I think pastors are already tapping into possibilities, but how to make those innovations sustainable in the midst of grief and polarization and outsized expectations and downsized denominations is an open question.

I want to equip and encourage clergy and congregations in this challenging work of discernment. I can think of no subject that I have more passion for than supporting pastors in their essential functions and creative approaches and churches in their efforts to live out even more fully the love of Christ in a chaotic time. While I have been doing this work for several years now, it is time for me to reach for more than a book or a conference (excellent analog tools!) to enhance my understanding. I need a power tool to hook into my belt. And so, this week I started the Doctor of Ministry program at Lexington Theological Seminary to study the changing church in a changing world. As the LTS website states, “Lexington Theological Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) program, Building Capacity for Transformational Ministries, a graduate professional degree, is designed to enhance pastors’ capacity to critically interpret and engage contemporary cultures as a means to give fresh expression to the gospel and to transform congregations for effective ministry in the twenty-first century.” That is just about a perfect product description for the power tool I’m looking to acquire.

I will maintain a full coaching schedule, though other pieces such as weekly blog writing and the development of new resources might become more infrequent when I am in classes. I am excited about diving into school once again, and I invite the company of your prayers on this new journey.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash.

If you’ve been visiting laurastephensreed.com for a long time, welcome back. If you’re new to this site, I’m glad you’re here. I have relaunched my online presence in an effort to serve all the constituencies I serve - clergy, congregations, and pastor search teams - more effectively.

Here’s what you need to know about this new and improved website:

It is easier than ever to get to my scheduler. There are buttons in the footer (and in the main content of many pages) for current and potential coachees.

I update the blog weekly. You can stay current by subscribing to the blog or by following me on Facebook or Twitter.

You can search blog content by constituency. I have categorized all posts as applicable to clergy, congregations, and/or pastor search teams.

My newsletter is designed to be a handy resource for you. I send a monthly edition with links and tools. If you didn’t respond to the pop-up invitation extended when you first arrived at laurastephensreed.com, you can sign up for the newsletter here. (If you signed up on the old website, don’t worry, I’ve still got you on my list.)

As you poke around, I welcome your feedback. Where have I missed a link? What is hard to find? What do you need that isn't there? My goal with this new online presence is to serve you as best I can.

Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash.