Ep 082: Pastoring Difficult People, with Craig T. Owens

Sometimes pastors are our own worst enemy, so we need to recognize that God chose us for this work.

There’s probably not a single pastor (at least not a long-term pastor) who can’t relate to the title of Craig T Owens’ latest book, When Sheep Bite: Help for Shepherd Leaders Who May Have Felt the Painful Bites.

In this conversation, Karl Vaters talks with Craig about what those bites mean, where they come from and what to do about them. Then they spend the bulk of the episode covering the chapters that make up the meat of his book:

• When the Sheep Flatter You
• When the Sheep Criticize You
• When the Sheep Gossip About You
• When the Sheep Slander You
• When the Sheep Question Your Authority
• When the Sheep Abandon You

Links:

• When Sheep Bite: Help for Shepherd Leaders Who May Have Felt the Painful Bites
• Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics that Really Matter
• craigtowens.com
• Church Metrics that Really Matter, with Craig T. Owens (Ep 043)

BONUS MATERIAL

Navigating Your Way Through Good Stress And Bad Stress, with Craig Owens

Karl Vaters interviews Craig T Owens about the fact that there are two kinds of stress that we all face:

1. Unbalanced, unhealthy stress, which we call distress
2. Balanced, healthy stress, which is known as eustress

In life, as in ministry, it’s essential that we know the difference, and that we’re aware of how to reduce the negative, while embracing and growing with the positive.

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