There’s never enough time to stay current with your “must read” stack, is there?
The interim pastor’s life is one challenge after another, one client church and consultation after another, and one packed calendar – without end.
How do you cultivate and nurture your own professional development and inner life in the face of this relentless onslaught? What is your plan to stay current in your chosen vocation, in touch with research, and avoid being “stuck” with an education that stopped the day you collected the sheepskin?
Podcasting just might be a workable solution for you.
I’ve discovered a wealth of professional development resources in the podcast universe. Here is my current “favorites list” of podcast episodes. Well, number 5 on the list is really four episodes, but I’m counting on your grace.
1. How to Get a Day’s Work Done in 2 Hours
Interim pastors are sometimes so overwhelmed with “must do” tasks that they feel like everyone else is in control of their schedule! In this podcast Ray Edwards offers a simple, three-step approach to knocking out the work in heroic fashion. (link)
2. The 5 Characteristics of Weak Leaders
Developing lay leaders is an important part of the interim pastor’s responsibility. In this podcast Michael Hyatt counsels us on what to look for (or avoid) in potential leaders. He also offers practical advice in how to deal with these same flaws in ourselves. (link)
3. Conflict in the Congregation, What it Can Mean
If you’ve been an interim minister for any length of time, you’ve dealt with conflict. In this podcast Alban Institute senior consultant, Susan Nienaber discusses how conflict in a congregation isn’t always a negative. (link)
4. How to Overcome Resistance
In order to overcome that invisible force that opposes you any time you try to start a new project or make an improvement in your life you must understand what it is. In this podcast Michael Hyat identifies the four attributes of inner resistance and how to cope with it. (link)
5. Altar Ego Leadership
In these short podcasts Craig Groeschel discusses leadership principles based on his book Altar Ego. Craig helps us lay down who we think we are so we can become the leaders we were intended to be. (link)
6. The Toughest Transition
Alban senior consultant Alice Mann discusses the toughest size transition for congregation–going from pastoral- to program-sized. (link)
7. Building a Volunteer Leadership Team
In this podcast Hank Hilliard discusses the challenges and benefits of calling and developing youth ministry volunteers. (link)
8. The Lifecycle of the Local Church
Every church is unique and yet they all seem to experience the same stages in the lifecycle. This instructional video will prepare interim pastors to present the concept to church leaders. (link)
9. The One Page Church Business Plan
Okay, a moment of honesty here: this podcast is actually about “How To Create A One-Page Marketing Plan.” But the insights and ideas in this podcast are priceless for the interim pastor who wants to train the client church to keep it simple!. (link)
10. Analysis and Comparison of the Attractional and Missional Church Models
This helpful videocast identifies the primary distinctions of and differences between the attractional and the missional models of the local church. (link)
A word of warning for the congregation
If you really get into podcasting and recommend that your church members do, too, be sure they know that your podcast is not their pastor!
Question
Which podcasts have you found most helpful for professional development?
