When we left our last church, we didn’t know what God had for us in the future. It was difficult saying goodby to friends and the thought that perhaps our years of caring for the people of God was coming to an end. We knew that God could be trusted, but we didn’t know what He wanted us to trust Him with. Then I met Shaun Dean. Shaun heard my story and asked some questions about my experience and then suggested that the ministry of Standing Stone might be a good fit. “You are exactly the kind of man we are looking for in our ministry”, he said. Those were encouraging words.
Standing Stone Ministry is a 25 year old ministry working to care for pastors, Christian leaders and their families in such a way that the pastors of America are restored to health and wholeness and with a renewed hope for their congregations and ministries.
Did you know that 58% of pastors feel they do not have any good, true friends?
Did you know that 65% of pastors feel their family lives in a glass house and fear they are not good enough to meet expectations?
Did you know that 58% of pastors feel seminary had not properly prepared them for ministry tasks?
Here’s the good news!
Did you know that our 200+ Standing Stone shepherds are caring for 3,500 pastors, ministry leaders and their spouses each week? Wow! We love working with such a great organization with such an important mission
While that is great news, we have a long way to go to make sure that there are healthy leaders in every community leading healthy churches. That’s our mission.
“My men”
(They are really God’s, but you know what I mean)
My men are kind of unique. Most Standing Stone Field Shepherds have a list of men they are caring for, 90% of whom, live within a one hour radius of where they live. For me, because of my having taught at three different seminaries around the country, my men are spread out a bit. Since we (Standing Stone Shepherds) offer our care at no cost to the pastors we care for, this would normally not work. Thankfully, ZOOM technology and FaceTime with Facebook makes it possible for me to meet with many more men without the expense of time and travel. As a result, this is a breakdown of where my men are:
In the Chicagoland area (7 Pastors)
In South Carolina (10 Pastors)
In North Carolina (2 Pastors)
In California (2 Pastors)
In Pennsylvania / Maryland (3 Pastors)
In Colorado (1 Pastor)
In Arizona (1 Pastor)
In Tennessee (1 Pastor) and finally,
In New Zealand (2 Pastors)
Some of these men, I meet with weekly, some biweekly, some monthly or less but all of them need the support and encouragement of a friendly, non-judgmental voice and the prayer of a colleague who knows their world, their struggles and pressures. And I need wisdom, patience and insight. Please keep me in prayer as I seek to care for these men and for Stephnie as she also works with a few of their wives.
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