Newsletter: october 2025
Pastor's Retreat: A True Blessing
On September 23 and 24, 14 pastors gathered in the beautiful town of Guttenburg, IA. We rested and learned about rest. We fellowshipped and took stock in where we are and what has impacted us in our lives. Jeff Allen called us "up" into understanding the challenges of being a pastor and how we get worn down in this beautiful calling that our Father has for us and what we get to do in our congregations. For many, it was a reset, a refresh and a time to consider how to lead and love moving forward.
We lodged at the picturesque "The Landing" inn, spent a lot of time getting to know each other better, eating some great food (and sampling some wine at Promiseland Winery) and then some of us ended up our time together with a guided cruise of the Mississippi River seeing an abundance of bald eagles and even visiting the waters of Wisconsin after traversing some majestic islands on the river.
It was a great experience for all of us. We'll do it again next year! We already have some thoughts in mind. If you are a pastor and didn't go this year, we encourage you to go next year. If you are a church member, we would encourage you to encourage your pastor to join us next year!
The Monthly Relationship Team (MRT):
A new way to look at pastoral evaluation/relationship
As I have visited the vast majority of our 23 churches (almost 24!), I have talked with pastors and Consistories about a new way of doing pastoral reviews.
No one really likes the annual review. Few pastors really like to sit down and be reviewed, pastors/humans focus so much on the negative even though 90%+ of our time together may be positive. Reviewers so frequently focus on the last three months even though it is supposed to be a 12 month review. Why? We don't remember what happened 10 months before (good or bad). So, it becomes subjective instead of objective.
Church boards and pastors also have the natural tendency of drifting apart over time. Without intentional interactions and conversations, generally speaking a pastor will leave or be asked to leave around seven years after ministry begins. We need to do a better job of communicating, interacting and developing relationships long-term.
I have shared the below with many pastors and Consistories in my travels in Iowa and Illinois. I believe when a team (make up below) sits down with a pastor for 10-15 minutes each month, yes, each month, communication is increased, interaction becomes natural and relationships are built. Both sides ask questions. This is flexible and not meant to be hard and fast but it is meant to be regular. I believe this time together creates a time of note taking, care and a whole lot less subjective evaluations, even if you still decided to do a more formal annual evaluation.
Below is the format and the questions. One pastor and Consistory who has put this into place has said that this format has literally changed the relationship between him and his board. See how this can change your church, try it, you might like it!
Monthly Relationship Team (MRT)
One deacon
One elder
10 minutes each month (max 15 minutes)--meant to be quick, if more time is needed, that is a good thing, and can be scheduled at another time
General notes are taken
If needed, any action items from this brief meeting should have clear responsibility and timeline of response/reply etc.
These questions are said by the pastor to the MRT and from the MRT to the pastor:
How do you think things are going?
Is there anything you want to know or feel you don't know about?
How is the health of:
The board (from Pastor)?
The pastor and his family (from MRT)?
Work/Life balance
Quiet Time/SolitudeEquipping Cohorts for UMV Churches
Recent UMV Network Articles
