darrellstetler2.com

What to Do When Life Punches Your Goals in the Nose

My morning routine, which I wrote about recently, was going so well. Life was starting to hum along again, after the birth of our sixth child. He was sleeping through the night, I was able to get some sleep & get up and rock my to-do list before dawn. Then, the baby got a cold. […]

darrellstetler2@gmail.com 9 years agoFebruary 4, 2016

Uncategorized

Keeping Sunday Nights From Being a Drag

“I am so frustrated with my Sunday night service!” the pastor wrote in a message to me. “It’s like 30% of the attendance of my Sunday morning worship service — even every time I pray about it I feel frustrated & discouraged!” What to say to that guy? First: Don’t freak out. Don’t live and […]

darrellstetler2@gmail.com 9 years agoJanuary 16, 2025

Leadership preaching

Why We Still Do Sunday Night Services

Sunday night services have fallen on hard times. I can understand why. Attendance is low. It’s tiring for pastors & their families, especially for those who have 6 children. People are busy. They feel overworked, overcommitted, tired and stressed. Family time is drained by a million things. (I know, I know — family time is […]

darrellstetler2@gmail.com 9 years agoJanuary 22, 2016

Leadership

What I Learned from Raising Cane’s

A few months ago, a new chicken place came into our neighborhood. It was named Raising Cane’s. Liz and I decided to try it. In short, we loved it. It hasn’t replaced Chick-Fil-A, but they are really good at what they do. And I’m not the only one. Raising Cane’s was the 4th fastest growing […]

darrellstetler2@gmail.com 9 years agoJanuary 21, 2016

Bible Emotional Health Family Health Leadership Pastoral Burnout Personal Productivity Systems Tech Tools

How to Build a Morning Routine – Part 2

There isn’t one “right” morning routine. It’s built on your values and realities. My reality is self-employed (pastor) and 6 kids. Yours might look totally different. But for some ideas and encouragement, here’s a walkthru of my morning routine, from start to finish, with tips of what makes it work better for me. If you […]

darrellstetler2@gmail.com 9 years agoFebruary 16, 2016

Personal Productivity preaching Systems Tech Tools

10 Ways Evernote Is Making Pastoring Easier For Me

I am loving Evernote. I had an account with Evernote for a couple years, but I confess I didn’t see the benefits & uses at the time, so I didn’t start using it. Then I read a post by Michael Hyatt on how he uses Evernote, and it opened my eyes to the possibilities. Since […]

darrellstetler2@gmail.com 9 years agoJanuary 14, 2016

Team brainstorming over their mission with coffee

Holidays & Special Days Leadership outreach Personal Productivity Systems

The Best Way to Improve Your Church Outreach

I once heard John C. Maxwell tell a story of a man who was angry at being passed over for a promotion. “They can’t do that — I have 20 years experience!” he grouched. “No you don’t!” Maxwell retorted. “You have one year of experience 20 times!” If you have been in church work for […]

darrellstetler2@gmail.com 9 years agoJanuary 20, 2025

Books Personal Productivity Uncategorized

Books I Am Most Excited to Read This Year

Want to read more books in 2016? Here’s a little tip from Michael Hyatt — Don’t feel pressure to finish: “Here’s publishing’s dirty little secret: most books are not worth finishing. Most books could be cut in half and you wouldn’t miss a thing. The key is to read as long as you are interested and then […]

darrellstetler2@gmail.com 9 years agoJanuary 3, 2016

Personal Productivity preaching sermons Systems Uncategorized

5 Reasons You Should Plan Sermons In Advance

There’s a running joke among preachers, where sermons are referred to as “Saturday Night Specials.” It’s one of those jokes with an element of truth. Every small church pastor knows the feeling of a busy week of ministry, outside jobs, counseling, maintenance — and an emergency crash sermon prep session on Saturday night. (Or Sunday morning!) I know […]