Of course, as you get older in ministry you look back at where you’ve come from (I’m now 50). You can’t help but reflect on the things you have learnt along the way. And, boy, there are many things I wish I could’ve said to myself. I’m not sure I would’ve listened well, or even understood, but it might have helped me avoid some pitfalls. Here are some of the things I wish I could have said—and undoubtedly need to keep saying to myself now.

1. It’s easier to plant a church in your head than to do it in reality.

I had plans for how a church would work and what it ‘should look like’ and ‘how long things would take’. But, of course, people and circumstances don’t neatly fit into our plans and ideas. Planting a church has required a lot more perseverance and spiritual pit stops than I ever anticipated. The Lord is kind in not showing us everything beforehand!

2. Don’t be too opinionated. Loads of your brilliant ideas will never work, and you’ll realise you’re wrong (or at best, unbalanced) on a bunch of things.

This won’t be everyone’s issue, but I have always had a tendency to have too much confidence in my own opinion, and to stand my ground unnecessarily. I think opportunities have been lost at times, and some conflicts could’ve been avoided by being more flexible (and humble).

3. Patience and tenacity will be more important than giftedness.

Of course, it’s great for leaders to be gifted and useful, but everything we do is qualified by patience and tenacity. Perseverance in the walk qualifies all the verbs of ministry. The victory comes to the determined and tenacious. We don’t want to just run the race, but finish the race.

4. You will need to pray loads more than you think.

Of course I always knew that I needed to pray—you can’t get into pastoral ministry without having heard about the importance of prayer! But it took me a few years to get going with prayer in any disciplined way. I would say that prayer has been the single most important thing in keeping me going as a pastor. Prayer has been where the promises of God have become very real to me.

Read it all.

As we continue in Christian ministry, at every level, how can we learn the lessons and grow in maturity—and pass those lessons on to others who follow? @AJWTheology https://t.co/Wx6o2d7IJT

— Dr Ian Paul (@Psephizo) February 13, 2024

The number of farms in America is shrinking as growers get older and producing crops gets a lot more expensive.

The US had 1.9 million farms in 2022, a 6.9% drop from five years ago and the lowest since at least 1992, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture released on Tuesday. The total acreage used in farms dropped about 2.2%.

The survey, conducted every five years, shows an increasingly challenging outlook for food production in the US as the population grows. The high cost of land and equipment has raised the bar of entry into agriculture, making it more expensive for the next generation to produce crops.

Meanwhile, the average age of producers continued to climb, reaching 58.1 years in 2022.

Read it all.

The number of farms in America is shrinking as growers get older and producing crops gets a lot more expensive, according to the USDA’s Census of Agriculture https://t.co/DZgnTtvkdr

— Bloomberg (@business) February 13, 2024

Seven Ordained to the Diaconate

“From the moment I entered the cathedral, my heart soared with joy,” said the now-Rev. Scott Poelker, one of seven ordained to the diaconate at the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul on January 27. “It felt like I was carried aloft by the household of faith to the banquet of our Lord. I was fed spiritual energy for the task that lies ahead.” Read the full story and view photo gallery. 

Read it all.

Bishop Chip Edgar Ordains Seven to the Diaconate https://t.co/H0rYhqPyIg #anglican #parishministry #southcarolina #lowcountrylife #deacons #service pic.twitter.com/w4ycYFcVK2

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) February 13, 2024

In his first six months in office last summer, the mayor of Denver, Mike Johnston, managed to get more than 1,200 homeless people off the streets and into housing. That seemed like a fitting feat for a city that prides itself on its compassion.

It would turn out to be a footnote compared with the humanitarian crisis that Denver would soon face as thousands of migrants flooded the city, many of them bused from the southern border by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and almost all of them in need of shelter and support.

By last month, Denver, a city of 750,000, had received nearly 40,000 migrants, the most per capita of any city in the nation, even as the flow of migrants slowed in the deep chill of winter. And the city has begun to feel the same sort of strains that have confronted New York and Chicago as they contended with their own migrant influxes.

Read it all.

This is such an astonishing figure: Denver, a city of 750,000 people, has received *40,000* migrants.

In roughly proportionate terms, that's as if Philly received 80,000 or Chicago received 140,000 or LA received 200,000 or NY received half a million.https://t.co/wL7N6LgJw1

— Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) February 13, 2024

Set us free, O heavenly Father, from every bond of prejudice and fear: that, honoring the steadfast courage of thy servants Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, we may show forth in our lives the reconciling love and true freedom of the children of God, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

“Above all things, let us instruct [our children] in the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whereby they may become wise unto salvation.” – Absalom Jones (1746-1818), First African American Priest #absalomjones https://t.co/dQuOR45Jps

— Our Church Speaks (@ourchurchspeaks) February 13, 2024

O thou in whom we live and move and have our being, awaken us to thy presence that we may walk in thy world as thy children. Grant us reverence for all thy creation, that we may treat our fellow men with courtesy, and all living things with gentleness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

—New Every Morning (The Prayer Book Of The Daily Broadcast Service) [BBC, 1900]

The first signs of Spring have arrived in Oxford🥀
📸Image by '@lulahorton' on IG pic.twitter.com/5ZNK0RqlfD

— Keble College, Oxford (@KebleOxford) February 13, 2024

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

–Philippians 3:7-11

#Brighton sunrise. @ThePhotoHour @StormHour pic.twitter.com/APd8OGMzAP

— Stephen Royle (@Steveontour1) February 13, 2024