For a number of years I have had a website at www.bivocational ministries.com as well as this blog. For the past two or three years I've concentrated on posting on this blog while neglecting the website. I've simply found it much easier to write for the blog than trying to maintain the website. Although the website does not cost a lot of money there is an expense involved. It is time to renew the website with my server, and I've decided not to do so but to continue to post on this blog instead. The traffic to the website hasn't been that great in the past few years so I doubt that many people will even notice that it is gone. The regular readers of this blog seems to be growing, and my hope is that will continue. I would be especially excited if those who do read it would decide to be a follower of the blog.
One of the things that the website did offer was the ability to purchase my books on line with a credit card. You will now notice that I've listed my books on the lower left of the blog page. At the bottom of the page is information on how you can order the book directly from me. I am not set up at this time to accept credit cards so you will need to pay by check or money order. The shipping costs of a single book is $3.00 which will need to be added to the cost of the book. If you wish to order more than one book please let me know, and I will combine shipping costs to save you some money. If you wish to order 20 or more copies of a single title, please let me know and I will quote you a discounted bulk rate and have the publisher ship them directly to you.
As I look ahead to 2014 I am excited about what is happening with bivocational ministry. I already have two speaking engagements scheduled in March, and I'm hopeful those opportunities will continue to come. Last week I had a very encouraging e-mail from a bivocational minister who had never written to me before expressing his appreciation for the support he found in this blog and in my books. Another e-mail came from an academic leader who had finished The Healthy Pastor: Easing the Stresses of Ministry. He said he found it very helpful and intended to recommend it to his students. Two weeks ago I received an e-mail from a doctoral student wanting to interview me for his dissertation project which will focus on bivocational ministry. I believe that was the fourth doctoral student that contacted me in 2013 wanting information for their dissertations. In recent months EthicsDaily.com has posted a number of articles from this blog and has asked me to write a couple of posts specifically for them. I anticipate that relationship will continue as well. All of this is very humbling and reminds me how important this work is. The numbers of bivocational ministers are growing across most denominations, and their need for helpful resources is growing as well. I'm glad that I can help provide some of those resources.
As I've written before, change is never easy. A few years ago I stopped writing a monthly newsletter that went out by e-mail to hundreds of bivocational ministers. That was not an easy decision to make, nor is the one about letting the website go, but doing so allows me more time to write for this blog. I believe in the long run that will allow me to reach the most people so it is the right decision to make.
If you find this blog helpful I would ask two things. The first is to please keep me in your prayers. As most regular readers know, my work with bivocational ministers is only a small part of what I do. As a judicatory leader in our Region I serve and directly relate to 130 churches plus carry other responsibilities. It is good and important ministry. Please pray that God will grant me the wisdom I need to fulfill this ministry well. Secondly, encourage your bivocational friends and leaders of smaller churches to become followers of the blog. I believe there are thousands of small church leaders that would benefit from the information I try to provide, but I need you to spread the word.
Let me close this post by saying thanks to all of you who have been following the website and blog and those of you who have been reading my books. I appreciate each and every one of you.
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