Seventeen years ago Children’s Ministry Director Vanessa Myers sat in her yearly review at church. All eyes were on her. And all she wanted to do was quit. In Vanessa’s words:

 I listened, helplessly, as my peers and employers critiqued the job I was doing.

You’re good at this, but you need to work on this.

Don’t do that again.

We don’t like it when you do this. Can you do more of this instead?

The list of comments grew and grew. I know there had to be some positive ones but the negatives echoed in my head.

What I was really hearing was: You’re not good enough. We don’t like you. You stink.

These are the first words you’ll read when you open up the pages of  Rise Up: Choosing Faith over Fear in Christian Ministry

Do you want to know what happened? Vanessa didn’t quit. She rose up; chose faith over fear; and then seventeen years later, wrote a book about her experience. Meet Vanessa Myers, as I interview her about her journey as a Children’s Minister and her hopes in writing the book.

If you serve in ministry, or you know someone who does, you’ll also want to enter the giveaway of this wonderful new release.  Continue reading →