Shepherding

Communication | Delegation | Elder-Preacher Relationships | Individual Responsibility | Leadership | Overseeing | Shepherd-Shepherd Relationships | Shepherding

Elders’ — Preachers’ Meeting Agenda
ByJerrie Barber October 5, 2026September 30, 2026

I recently received a question about what to include in a meeting of the elders and preachers. The first thing to decide is who’ll be included in the meetings. Some elders have a policy that preachers don’t meet with them unless the preacher requests a meeting or they request the preacher to meet with them….

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Communication | Conflict | Delegation | Elder-Preacher Relationships | Gossip | Grace | Growth | Individual Responsibility | Influence | Leadership | Overseeing | Shepherd-Shepherd Relationships | Shepherding

Two-year anniversary of Gleaning Mustard Seeds
ByJerrie Barber July 6, 2026July 7, 2026

I like birthdays, anniversaries, and parties! Last week marked two years of the Gleaning Mustard Seeds podcast. Thank you for listening, telling others about the podcast, and your encouragement. What’s been amazing to me is how people from all over the world hear about this podcast and listen. There have been downloads from 89 countries…

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Communication | Individual Responsibility | Leadership | Sheep | Shepherding

Is My Picture Printed Here?
ByJerrie Barber March 2, 2026March 5, 2026

Steve Cummings will lead a listening workshop at Hartsville Pike Saturday, March 7, 2026, 9:00-12:00. This workshop was designed to help us improve our communication, especially in showing our concern to those who no longer attend services. It’s modeled after the work of Dr. John Savage. He became concerned about people who started missing worship,…

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Communication | Deacons | Delegation | Elder-Preacher Relationships | Leadership | Leadership Selection | Overseeing | Shepherd-Shepherd Relationships | Shepherding

Considering becoming an elder
ByJerrie Barber September 1, 2025August 30, 2025

What prepares a man to be an elder? Is it years of church, attendance, a successful business career, or a heart shaped by conflict, prayer, and growth? When someone accepts the call to shepherd God’s people, how do they know if the congregation actually wants them to serve, and how do they avoid simply becoming…

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Communication | Conflict | Deacons | Delegation | Elder-Preacher Relationships | Giving | Goals | Gossip | Grace | Gratitude | Grief | Growth | Individual Responsibility | Influence | Leadership | Leadership Selection | Listening | Overseeing | Sheep | Shepherd-Shepherd Relationships | Shepherding | Termination | Tools and Skills | Transition

Interim Ministry and Other Ministry Workshop
ByJerrie Barber July 7, 2025July 8, 2025

Do You Think About Ministry? A better ministry? An Interim Ministry? A new Ministry?Whether you’re a veteran preacher, a deacon wondering about your next step, a retiring professional ready to serve in a new capacity, or someone in your first year of ministry, if you’ve thought about it, you need to come to this workshop!…

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Communication | Conflict | Elder-Preacher Relationships | Gratitude | Growth | Individual Responsibility | Influence | Leadership | Leadership Selection | Listening | Overseeing | Sheep | Shepherd-Shepherd Relationships | Shepherding | Tools and Skills | Transition

Happy 80th Birthday, Jerrie Barber, and Happy 10th Anniversary New Shepherds Orientation and Seasoned Shepherds Revitalization Blog
ByJerrie Barber March 3, 2025March 3, 2025

The first post in this blog was on January 6, 2015. I use this date as the day I started liking to write. I was approaching seventy years old and had been preaching for more than fifty years. I wrote bulletin articles each week and a weekly newspaper article when I lived in Dalton, Georgia….

Read More Happy 80th Birthday, Jerrie Barber, and Happy 10th Anniversary New Shepherds Orientation and Seasoned Shepherds Revitalization Blog
Communication | Conflict | Deacons | Delegation | Elder-Preacher Relationships | Giving | Goals | Individual Responsibility | Leadership | Leadership Selection | Overseeing | Shepherd-Shepherd Relationships | Shepherding

Third New Shepherds Orientation Workshop at Fairlane
ByJerrie Barber November 4, 2024November 2, 2024

Fairlane Church of Christ in Shelbyville, Tennessee, participated in its third New Shepherds Orientation Workshop from August 9 to 11. This is my first time leading three New Shepherds Orientation Workshops for the same congregation. But this was the design of this workshop. Henry Wilhoit called me in the fall of 2013. He told me,…

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Communication | Elder-Preacher Relationships | Goals | Gossip | Influence | Leadership | Shepherd-Shepherd Relationships | Shepherding

New Shepherds Orientation Workshop # 23, Cruciform Church of Christ, Fayetteville, North Carolina
ByJerrie Barber March 6, 2023March 6, 2023

January 20–22 was the 23rd New Shepherds Orientation Workshop in Fayetteville, North Carolina. We met in the home of Joey and Claire Watson, one of the shepherd families. We had breakfast and lunch there, and some of us went for a 5:30 meal at local restaurants. Interesting Observations about the Cruciform Leadership Team The Cruciform…

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Communication | Elder-Preacher Relationships | Gratitude | Individual Responsibility | Leadership | Overseeing | Shepherding

First Raise in Fifteen Years of Interim Ministry
ByJerrie Barber December 21, 2022December 21, 2022

I published this yesterday on Between Preachers website. It is receiving such a good response, I wanted this group to receive it, also. Some of you will get both posts. Interim Ministry Workshop, Tuesday-Thursday March 14–16, 2023, Heritage Christian University, Florence, Alabama When I started interim ministry in May 2007, I set some guidelines on…

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Communication | Shepherding | Tools and Skills

How to Deliver Bad News
ByJerrie Barber January 31, 2022January 31, 2022

Leaders will have the opportunity to deliver disturbing news. How can we do that with the least pain? Any abrupt powerful announcement without preparation reminds me of the story of a new state trooper. He’d never made a death call. He hadn’t been trained. He didn’t know what to say. He was going to inform…

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