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This is podcast 164 of Strength for Today’s Pastor. 

In this interview, I'm speaking with Pastor Dan Jacobsen, a lead/teaching pastor at Heartland Community Church in Olathe, Kansas.

In addition to his role as a pastor-teacher, Dan has the unique distinction of being a grandson of the now-in-heaven pastor and Bible teacher, the beloved Dr. Warren Wiersbe. 

This is going to be a fun conversation for that reason alone. But wait! There will be more! 

So, welcome to the program. 

Be sure to listen to the end, to discover how to win something special from Dr. Wiersbe's works.

For Poimen Ministries, its staff, ministries, and focus, go to poimenministries.com. To contact Poimen Ministries, email us at [email protected]. May the Lord revive His work in the midst of these years!

Comments? Questions? Send us a message!

Shaun and Sheila Sells have served faithfully as a senior/lead pastor and wife team with Calvary Chapel Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Then, after 20 years in that role, Shaun handed the church leadership reins over to his admin pastor, with a vision to move on to the next season of life and ministry for the both of them.

Both Shaun and Sheila are retired from the U.S. Air Force (Sheila ends her career in mid-November 2024). 

Listen to their story, and get inspired and instructed by this couple's kingdom mindset. 

Blessings as you do.

  

For Poimen Ministries, its staff, ministries, and focus, go to poimenministries.com. To contact Poimen Ministries, email us at [email protected]. May the Lord revive His work in the midst of these years!

Comments? Questions? Send us a message!

Dr. Richard Clinton is an expert on Christian leadership. He and his father Dr. J. Robert Clinton have spent more than 40 years researching, analyzing, and instructing on the subject. They've looked at Biblical leaders, at leaders in the history of the church. They've been thorough, to say the least.

What Richard has to say with regard to the life stages of the Christian leader is vital and helpful for Christian leaders fom a vision and preparation standpoint. And also helpful for the older leaders as they move into their sunset years, as well as for younger leaders, to understand where they are in the overall plan of God for them right now.

Listen in, make comments, ask questions. We'll do our best to help.

For Poimen Ministries, its staff, ministries, and focus, go to poimenministries.com. To contact Poimen Ministries, email us at [email protected]. May the Lord revive His work in the midst of these years!

Comments? Questions? Send us a message!

Richard Clinton is passionate with regard to helping Christian leaders—particularly pastors—finish well.

Richard pastored 5 churches during the course of his 40-year pastoral ministry, and also served with his father, Dr. J. Robert Clinton, in the field of Christian leadership studies and training. The book The Making of a Leader: Recognizing Lessons and Stages of Leadership Development is the foundational book resulting from their work.

49 Biblical leaders were evaluated carefully, using a consistent set of criteria. Had they finished well?

The conclusion: only 13 of these leaders did finish well. 

Join us in this episode, as Richard Clinton breaks down the patterns of those who did finish well, as well as the behaviors and areas of failure that led to finishing badly.

Obviously, this is very timely, given today's pastoral climate. And, there is help available!

For Poimen Ministries, its staff, ministries, and focus, go to poimenministries.com. To contact Poimen Ministries, email us at [email protected]. May the Lord revive His work in the midst of these years!

Comments? Questions? Send us a message!

Podcast Episode 161

Introduction

We love to hear pastors tell their own stories, and provide wisdom to others that they've gleaned and that has grown in them over their years of service. 

Today we have with us pastor Rich Lammay, who has been a senior/lead pastor for 32+ years in the relatively small town of Gardnerville, Nevada. 

Poimen Ministries recently served the church Rich serves, High Sierra Fellowship, as Rich and his wife Suzanne took three months to enjoyed a well-deserved and needed time away, to regroup and refresh. I was part of the serving team, and it was a wonderful experience for both me and pastor Phil Evans of Poimen Ministries.

So now that Rich is back in the saddle, so to speak, I wanted to have him share some of what he has learned, and some of what the Lord has done. 

I think you'll be encouraged.
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§  Welcome to Strength for Today’s Pastor, episode 161.

Poimen Ministries’ focus is for the strengthening and revitalization of the church. Therefore, the goal of this podcast is to provide interview episodes that will be encouraging to pastors and leaders anywhere.

§  So, today we have with us Pastor Rich Lammay, senior/lead pastor of High Sierra Fellowship, located in Gardnerville, Nevada.

High Sierra Fellowship is a wonderful church, a church I’ve personally gotten to know. It is an impressive work of God!

Rich has recently gotten back in the saddle after being given a three-month sabbatical after many years of ministry. So, we’re going to hear about that.

§  Rich, welcome to the program.

Interview

Bio Stuff

So Rich, let’s get to know you a bit here… you are married to Suzanne, and have been for over 50 years. Congrats on that…

Give us a 35,000’ view of your conversion, calling, and ministry life, if you would. (As an example, the church website does a great job telling the story concisely: https://hsfellowship.org/index.php/about-us/staff.)

Lessons of a Pioneer

So, you’ve been the lead pastor of HSF since 1992. You did that for a couple of years, and then by faith, left your corporate job to serve as a pastor-teacher full time. That was a pioneering step of faith! What did you learn, and how did that grow you?

Over the years, HSF has moved its primary meeting place a number of times. How many times has the church moved in the last 34 years? 

Now, the church meets in its beautiful facilities right in the heart of Gardnerville. And after a relatively short time, you’re already running out of room.

Lessons Learned Over the Years

What are the top five lessons/concepts you’ve learned in your years of pastoral ministry?

Sabbatical Experience (And the Return)

A three-month sabbatical: what preparation was required to pull it off?

People have no idea the pressures upon a senior/lead pastor, but there are many. Decompression is needed, and sabbath is needed. How long did it take you to decompress?

What did the Lord do in you and Suzanne during your time away?

What did He show you?

G. Campbell Morgan made this statement: “The value of distance is perspective.” With the perspective of being away for three months, what has changed, might change, will change moving forward?

Two Minute Drill

Rich, I’d like you to take two minutes or less to speak directly to your fellow pastors and

For Poimen Ministries, its staff, ministries, and focus, go to poimenministries.com. To contact Poimen Ministries, email us at [email protected]. May the Lord revive His work in the midst of these years!

Comments? Questions? Send us a message!

Welcome to Strength for Today’s Pastor, episode 160.

Our hope and goal is to provide encouragement, sometimes instruction, and sometimes ministry tools to current pastors and leaders, that the churches they serve might also be encouraged, strengthened, and equipped. 

To that end, today we have with us Pastor Joey Crandall, senior/lead pastor of Calvary Chapel Carson Valley, located in Gardnerville, NV. We’re actually recording here in the church facility.

So Joey, thanks for traveling all this way to join us today.

Pastor Joey has an interesting story about how he ended up in the senior pastor position. 

His vocational background was as a reporter—for 17 years. The Lord used his training as a journalist and reporter to help develop critical thinking and an ability to objectively observe and interpret details.

Joey ended up pastoring the very church he’d been part of since he was a young boy, succeeding a longtime, fruitful pastor in the Carson Valley and beyond.

Listen in as Joey tells his story, and hear as he explains some of the powerful lessons he learned in his formative years in pastoral ministry.

Joey’s story and lessons learned will be an encouragement to every Christian leader.

For Poimen Ministries, its staff, ministries, and focus, go to poimenministries.com. To contact Poimen Ministries, email us at [email protected]. May the Lord revive His work in the midst of these years!

Comments? Questions? Send us a message!

If we pastors don't know what we're aiming at, we'll never hit the target.

It's essential to have the right target, and there's no question that the Biblical target is to equip saints unto spiritual maturity and spiritual fruitfulness.

Join Bill Holdridge and Pastor Matt Valencia as they put skin on this topic, helpful for any pastor anywhere.

For Poimen Ministries, its staff, ministries, and focus, go to poimenministries.com. To contact Poimen Ministries, email us at [email protected]. May the Lord revive His work in the midst of these years!

Comments? Questions? Send us a message!

Matt Valencia pastors The Regeneration Church in Scotts Valley, CA. He's a father of five, a church planter, a former school teacher, a former assisting pastor, and the current pastor of ReGen Church. He also heads up a team of leaders across Northern California and Northern Nevada. These leaders serve the senior pastors and churches affiliated with the Calvary Chapel Association.

In addition to all of these things, and working together with all of it, Matt is a leader. He leads quietly, he leads patiently, he leads with openness.

So, I thought he'd be a good person to talk about the spiritual health of the church, the spiritual health of any church.

There needs to be a clear set of metrics ... biblical metrics ... by which we can measure our own personal spiritual health, as well as that of the churches we pastor.

If we don't know what we're aiming at, how will we ever hit the target?

In this episode, show host Bill Holdridge and Pastor Matt talk together, touching these points from a number of interesting angles.

Lots to glean from in #159.

For Poimen Ministries, its staff, ministries, and focus, go to poimenministries.com. To contact Poimen Ministries, email us at [email protected]. May the Lord revive His work in the midst of these years!

Comments? Questions? Send us a message!

For Poimen Ministries, its staff, ministries, and focus, go to poimenministries.com. To contact Poimen Ministries, email us at [email protected]. May the Lord revive His work in the midst of these years!

Comments? Questions? Send us a message!

Pastor Don Rypstra is in his last days of a long pastorate in Rochester, Minnesota. His and his wife's move to northern Idaho means that a new normal is waiting for them, but also that someone will be called into an exciting opportunity to pastor and reach the people of Rochester, home of the world-renowned Mayo Clinic.

Pastor Don is not unlike many pastors, world-wide. Don is conscientious, faithful, thoughtful, and committed to Christ and the gospel.

Another thing Don has been: he's been bi-vocational throughout his senior/lead pastor life.

Over 25 years ago, he moved his family from California to Rochester in a career related move. Then the Lord called him into pastoral ministry, and to start a church. Which is what he did. 

Don refers to himself as a small church pastor. More and more, others refer to such pastors as normal sized church pastors, because it's a more accurate description in terms of average church size in the U.S. 

In this podcast, Don tells part of their story to show host Bill Holdridge.

Not only is their story told, but the opportunity is now open to another called and gifted man to assume the leadership of Calvary Chapel Rochester.--- Support this podcast: 

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bill-holdridge/support

For Poimen Ministries, its staff, ministries, and focus, go to poimenministries.com. To contact Poimen Ministries, email us at [email protected]. May the Lord revive His work in the midst of these years!

Comments? Questions? Send us a message!

For Poimen Ministries, its staff, ministries, and focus, go to poimenministries.com. To contact Poimen Ministries, email us at [email protected]. May the Lord revive His work in the midst of these years!