The Authentic Pastor

06/23/2026

https://www.theauthenticpastor.com/blog/are-you-reproducing-what-was-reproduced-in-you

"Ministry isn't what you do—it's who you are." Most pastors believe it. It might be sinful. What we keep reproducing without realizing the cost.

06/23/2026

The only person who never had a Messiah complex was the Messiah.

He took naps. He turned crowds away. He let people leave disappointed. He ran a three-year ministry, not a forty-year one, and trusted the people he poured into to carry it.

So why did we decide the always-on, always-available, never-off pastor is what faithfulness looks like?

The sentence most of us were handed — “ministry isn’t what you do, it’s who you are” — and why it might be doing real damage.

05/28/2026

Our spring cohort kicked off recently — and it’s one of the best groups we’ve ever had!

Fall cohorts are now open. If you’ve been sitting on the idea of joining, this is your chance.

https://www.theauthenticpastor.com/cohorts

03/31/2026

Wrapped another cohort last week. Honestly one of the best groups we’ve had. Good food, good laughs, and the kind of honest conversation pastors don’t get enough of. Grateful for these people.

03/17/2026

We're running the first-ever March Madness Bracket Challenge — and the winner gets a free seat in one of our 2026 Pastor Cohorts. That's a $4,200 value! Keep it for yourself or gift it to someone in your life who needs it.

All you have to do is fill out your bracket before Thursday's first games tip off. Ministry is serious work. Brackets are not. Both matter this week.

Enter at the link below 👇

03/17/2026

New article today: March Madness as a mirror for ministry leaders. The scoreboard problem. The 16-seed problem. And the one question worth sitting with this week.

Link in bio.

03/17/2026

https://www.theauthenticpastor.com/blog/why-march-madness-is-a-mirror-for-ministry-leaders

March Madness reveals what ministry leaders already know—when metrics replace mission, you pay the price. And nobody thought to ask if you were okay.

03/17/2026

Sunday afternoon I watched Michigan lose to Purdue. Not my finest hour as a Michigan man.

But sitting with my youngest son during the Selection Show — watching him argue that his MSU Spartans were going to the Elite Eight — I started thinking about what this tournament has actually become. And what it accidentally mirrors about ministry.

The money got too big. The system drifted. Nobody designed it this way — it evolved, one television deal at a time, until even the people who benefited most from it will tell you privately: this isn't what it was supposed to be.

The American church did the same thing.

I wrote about it today — including what I'd say to every pastor sitting alone on a Monday morning wondering what's wrong with them.

Nothing is wrong with you. You're playing a different game with different resources and being measured by the same scoreboard.

That's a system problem you inherited, not one you created.

Full article in the comments.

03/09/2026

Pastors are reading Ministry Cancer. Here’s what they are saying. Available now on Amazon.

03/03/2026

I went to bed last night feeling pretty amazing. And then I woke up at 5:30 AM and broke my rules and checked my phone before my morning routine. Now, I’m on social media before a shower. My whole ritual is off. But I guess sometimes it’s ok to bend your own rules when your new book hits #1 on Amazon overnight. Beyond humbled and grateful today.