Mike Goldsworthy

Empty nesting advantage - getting bring along a stowaway when I travel to speak.

Had a great time with my friends at , and loved getting to explore Chicago with

The thing I wasn’t prepared for when you take your kids to college is how much it feels like you leave a piece of yourself in that place. We’re so proud of you , and man, what a remarkable place you get to call home for the next 4 years.

Go Bruins!

Something you may or may not know about me is one of the things I get to do is partner with churches to help them find pastors. Because I know many of you who follow me are pastors who no longer fit in the spaces where you used to belong, I wanted to let you know about an opportunity that could be really interesting to you.

I’ve been working with a really great ELCA church in Palm Desert, CA, and their Bishop just enthusiastically ok’d them to consider hiring a post-evangelical pastor if they are open to becoming rostered with the ELCA. They’re a pretty decent size church for the mainline space (like 600+ in attendance), have a modern worship service that was started by a former megachurch pastor who became affirming. And a good salary with good benefits. They need someone who could hang both in liturgy and modern worship, and who could lead a staff team and $2mil+ budget.

Shoot me a DM if you want to have a conversation. I’d love to help a great pastor land at this great church.

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗼⁣
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I heading back from doing some work with a church in San Antonio who are looking for a new Executive Pastor, and made a quick stop by the Alamo⁣
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The last time I visited the Alamo was the summer after high school. My friend Nic and I had decided we wanted to do a road trip, but couldn’t decide where to go. In the midst of watching PeeWee’s Big Adventure where he travels to the Alamo, we looked at each other and said, “we need to drive to the Alamo”⁣
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I have so many fond memories from that trip. Getting pulled over doing 120 mph in the middle of nowhere Texas, visiting multiple alien museums in Roswell, seeing the movie Armageddon during one bored afternoon and promptly buying the CD to listen to that Aerosmith song over and over, and committing to wearing cowboy hats any time we were outside the car in Texas⁣
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Honestly, the Alamo was not the best part of our trip. But what I realized later was that the Alamo was never the point - it was just the spark that got us in the car and headed in a direction⁣
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I’ve realized that’s often what I need—not a perfect destination, just something to get me started. Once I’m in motion, I figure things out along the way⁣
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You’ve likely experienced that too. You chose a college based on what you thought you wanted, but along the way, you changed majors, made lifelong friends, or discovered a new passion⁣
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Or maybe you moved somewhere new—for a job, a relationship, lower cost of living, or a romanticized idea of being there. And even if those reasons no longer apply, so many experiences, people, and opportunities came from that move⁣
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You just needed something to get you going⁣
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I’ve sometimes been disappointed when a destination didn’t turn out as planned. But maybe that was never the point. Maybe it was just meant to get me moving⁣
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And so today, as I head back home for the second time from the Alamo, I’m giving thanks for all of the other Alamos that moved me out of a comfortable place and opened up all kinds of new possibilities that I couldn’t have planned for

𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 - 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻. ⁣
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It’s a few months out, but I wanted to put this on your radar - I’m really looking forward to teaming up with to offer a 𝟭 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟴 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗖𝗢. ⁣
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You’ll get an opportunity to connect with others from around the country who are leading in a similar kind of position, all while doing a one day strategic planning sprint to help intentionally launch your creative ministry into its next season. We will guide you through the tools and processes to create an actionable plan that’s uniquely yours and driven out of your specific context.⁣
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Because we wanted to make this accessible for Creative Ministry leaders, for you to potentially be able to bring multiple team members with you, and we wanted the ability for leaders from a lot of different places and contexts to be able to come, we’re offering it for only $150 per person. When we are typically facilitating this onsite with a specific organization, we’re charging $5k-$10k. So, it’s a great opportunity to meet some new friends in similar roles, enjoy Denver, and walk away with an actionable plan for your next season, at an incredibly affordable price.⁣
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There’s a link in the comments for information and registration.

On October 6, dozens of churches, Christian leaders, and others will use their platforms and pulpits, prayers and liturgies, voices and instruments, to honor the victims of war, lament the indignity of violence, and plant the seeds of God’s Kingdom of justice, peace, and reconciliation.

If you are looking for:
▪️Prayers
▪️Music
▪️Points to include in your sermon
▪️Videos of Palestinian Christians or other communities from the ground…

…or anything else to mark 1-year since October 7, check out this resource and add your name to the list of participating congregations promoting mutual flourishing on October 6, 2024: www.mutualflourishing.com

While we know that not every church or community is in the same place or ready to take the same actions, the set of resources and ideas being curated by this group will allow leaders to invite their congregations on a journey toward peacemaking—starting from wherever they are.

What a gift to get to spend a couple of days learning from Fr Richard Rohr. His thinking has certainly shaped me in some significant ways. But one of the things I’ll leave with is his presence. The joy, and non defensive, non anxious presence he had as he shared, took questions and offered comments on current events.

I’ll be thinking about our time with him for a long time and will probably not be able to fully put into words what it meant to be with him. Like he says - a mystery is not something that you cannot understand but instead is that which can be endlessly explored. Which is likely a good description of what I’ll be doing as I process these past couple of days.

Thanks and El Hidalgo (who apparently doesn’t let me tag him on here) for inviting us into this gift of a couple of days. Grateful.

Pastors and church leaders, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟔 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬.⁣
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A few months ago, I was at a gathering listening to the renowned Palestinian pastor, theologian, activist, and Dean of Bethlehem Bible College, .isaac share about the destruction and devastation of the war in Gaza, when he then turned to this crowd of Christian pastors and leaders and said, “𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥”. ⁣
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Since that time, I’ve worked to be better engaged in both smaller and larger ways. One of those ways is something that a group of us alongside have been working on - 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐒 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟔. ⁣
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As a response to a request from our Palestinian siblings, we are collecting and creating resources for churches to be able to use our voices for the sake of peace. Using your own pastoral discernment as to what is best for your local community, we’ll have prayer guides, suggested liturgies, music, sermon samples, talking points, and other resources to help you determine what is best for your community to give voice to a tangible expression of God’s kingdom of justice, peace, and reconciliation.⁣
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To sign up to learn more or know about more info and resources as they come available, go to https://www.mutualflourishing.com

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Two days ago I got a text message that my pastor, boss, mentor and friend Roger Beard had passed away. ⁣
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I first met Roger in the summer of 2000. We met at a Black Angus for lunch for an initial interview to be the High School Pastor at Parkcrest, where I would serve with him for the next 8 years before he retired, passing the baton (literally) for me to succeed him. ⁣
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Over those 8 years and then after, Roger left a significant mark on my life.⁣
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He gave me opportunities that were beyond my capacity and experience, trusting that I could grow into them. I distinctly remember the conversation we had when he first suggested that I could possibly follow him as the next pastor at Parkcrest. I realized that I would only be 29 years old at that point, which I shared with him. His response was, “well Mike…30 is a good age to get crucified at.” I’m not sure if he was right, but I appreciated his willingness to put me in positions that I was not ready for but could possibly grow into. ⁣
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For the first couple of years after he retired, Roger and I would get together monthly, taking turns picking a book to read together. When it was my choice, I would often pick a book that was probably somewhat stretching for him. He would never come in critiquing it though. Instead he showed up at our times together with curiosity and wanting to understand vantage points and experiences that were outside of his own. In working with so many different leaders over the past several years now, I’ve come to realize that kind of humble curiosity is a gift that many in positions of leadership do not pursue. ⁣
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One of the most significant gifts that I learned from Roger was to develop a pastoral theology. When we processed situations together, he taught me that the way you think theologically has to take into account real people and our theology’s effects on them. That idea would have a significant and radical effect on me. Maybe more than anything I learned from Roger, this is what would leave a lasting mark and shape me for years to come. ⁣
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As I transitioned from my role at Parkcrest, we didn’t have the same opportunities to spend time together the past few years as we did before. But I remain indebted to him and the mark he left on my life. He was a gift and will be missed

Dallas Willard would write that “𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 ‘𝘺𝘰𝘶’ 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮.”⁣
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A part of my own journey of growth involves understanding more and more of who I actually am and owning the reality that I find myself in. It’s when I do that work that I find myself being able to engage more fully, find myself more grounded, and surprisingly have a wider vision for the future. ⁣
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Which is why I’m so grateful that my friend put in the hard fought work to gift us with his newest book, 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗔𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲. It’s honest, practical and thoughtful. When I read these words towards the end of his book, I found myself wanting them to be true for myself, ⁣
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“𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵.”⁣
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Friends, I hope you can experience what Luke describes. And perhaps his new book might be a gateway to take another step in that direction.