After being away from home for 13 out of the last 24 days, it is good to be home.

My time away has been both personal and professional:

• Speaking at a men’s retreat in Lake Tahoe for two churches.

• Parents’ weekend at San Diego State University, visiting our daughter McLean

• Speaking at a pastors’ retreat for 25 leaders in Grass Valley, CA.  

• Performing a wedding for a good friend in Pasadena, while squeezing in dinner with our son Crew (and roommate Eric!) at UCLA. 

Each place was beautiful in its own way.  But home is where I love to be.

When we are away from the place where we have a routine and a certain amount of the comforts of home, we begin to long for those things.  

When I spoke to the pastors at their retreat, one of the things we talked about was how hard it was for them to be “on” in so many places and for so many people.  I think one of the beautiful things about home is that we can let that go away for a time.  We talked about finding people and places where you feel “at home.”   

My hope is to be a place of “home” in conversation with these leaders.  Where they can be fully themselves.  Where they don’t have to be on.  Where they can relax and let go of the anxiety of leadership for a while.

Thank you for making this work possible.  As I approach the end of the year, I still need $25,000 in one-time or renewed annual giving to remain fully funded.  Many generous people helped me get there in 2024, and I hope that new people will join in this partnership to help leaders stay healthy and lead healthy work for their churches, non-profits and businesses.  If you as an individual, or your church, organization, or business, would like to support this work, I’d love to talk to you!      

I am serving with a ministry called Standing Stone, which has aimed for over twenty years to provide a space for free, confidential coaching and care for pastors, ministry leaders, and leaders of every sphere. Standing Stone believes that healthy leaders need companions on their leadership journey, and that healthy leaders will lead healthy organizations that help transform their communities. You can learn more here: https://standingstoneministry.org/shepherd/burke-david/