I have a little something cooking on the side, and I could really use your help here.

There are quite a few pretty universal challenges to life in leadership. Some that I can think of off the top of my head are:

• Change / Transition
• Criticism
• Expectations
• Family
• Integrity
• Marriage
• Personal Passion
• Relationships/Friendships
• Spiritual Growth
• Time/Schedules
• Handling Difficult Situations & People

Here is where you come in. Could you tell me the top 3 areas that are a concern for you in your leadership and ministry? What am I missing? What have I forgotten?

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

This week’s get to know you question: How do you eat your Oreo?

I’m not a huge Oreo fan. But I do love those new golden ones. Yummy.

I twist the cookie apart. Eat one cookie. Then eat the creamy filling before finishing off the last cookie.

How do you eat your Oreos?

Is there a worse possible freeze frame? I think not. Quick hit play so that I won’t be embarrassed.

Today I officially join Leading and Loving It as a contributor… and I couldn’t be more excited.  Let me fill you in a little about my journey, I’ve spend most of the last 12 years or so “wandering” in the role of pastor’s wife.  To take it to another level, in a lot of ways I’ve been lost.  I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the last 12 years of ministry… but I’ve spent quite a bit of time wondering where and how I fit.

I’ve been married to a pastor for about 13 years and I’ve loved almost every minute, but to be honest I’ve probably wasted a lot of time.  Up until last year I believed that my husband was the only one doing the important work because I never felt “called” to ministry.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Pete and have a huge heart for the local church, I volunteer regularly and I’m very connected in our church… I fully supported his call to ministry, but I still felt it was his call and not mine.

Last year I had a revelation… it sounds like a simple thought, but sometimes I can be a little slow.  I remember driving down the road feeling quite discontent and praying for guidance.  I clearly felt God press on me “Brandi, I didn’t call you into ministry… but you’ve been a pastor’s wife for 12 years and I’m not gonna waste that experience, it’s time you step up.”

Around that same time my cyber friendship with Lori started to become more real.  I’d called her asking for advice on a situation and we discovered we viewed ministry with a very similar frame of mind.  Late last summer Pete and I even got the opportunity to sneak out to Vegas to meet she and Jud face to face.

Lori and I spent an evening sitting in a sleek booth at a trendy high-rise dreaming about connecting and networking other pastors’ wives.  Finding other ladies who have been in seasons where they’re lost and helping them walk through to the other side.  Encouraging and supporting other women in ministry and using technology as our  means of communication.  In short… we wanted to create a community.

So today I join Leading and Loving It to help create that community but I have to be honest, sometimes I’m still a little lost and sometimes I wonder how I fit in… but I believe that getting to know those of you who visit here is one stepping stone on my journey to purpose.

Anyone else every feel a little lost or wonder where you fit in?

Exciting news around here:

Make sure to check out her blog and their church. And give Brandi a few words of welcome and encouragement.

The get-to-know-you question of this week:

This year we are saving the world at our house. I have a Wonder Woman t-shirt to go along with the Super Cuties:

What costumes are rocking your house this year?

Obviously I write this blog mainly about leadership or my own personal experiences in life and ministry.

Pretend we are back at Starbucks, (since we planned events and conferences before) brainstorming and dreaming about awesome blogs.

What would the best blog for Pastor’s Wives and ladies in leadership look like?

What things would be discussed?

What do you wish you could find, in relation to ministry and leadership, on a blog?

What would be the purpose of reading? Connection? Information? Growth? Encouragement? Something else?

Thoughts?

Some thoughts from my awesome friend Donna. Wanna see & hear more from her … and you totally should … Click here, here, here, or here.

Sunday mornings around the Politz home look a little like this…

Our 11-year-old daughter is up first and is usually ready before anyone else wakes. Tommy is next. If I wake up before 8, we may chat while he irons his shirt. Then the boys and I get ready for the morning. Cole and I eat at home. My older two eat at church. Tommy doesn’t eat before our services. That’s it.

A pastor and his wife stayed with us a while back. He was in town to speak one Sunday morning for Tommy. They are great and super fun. Their Sunday mornings look a lot different from ours. Let me begin with some background information… we don’t take the paper. This amazing wife gets up, makes her man a hot breakfast with the paper next to his plate. Oops, we don’t take the paper. Thankfully, we had eggs in the refrigerator.

So, what does Sunday morning before church look like at your house? Even if you attend Saturday night service, how does Sunday morning look?

I’m horrible with names. Horrible. I try hard … but … horrible.

I’ve just about decided that my brain has some kind of name holding capacity. In order to cram another name in there, another has to drop off the back.

I can’t you how many times I’ve walked up to people and said, “I don’t think I’ve met you before, I’m Lori.” And then I hear the dreaded, “Um … I’ve actually met you 3 times.” Oops. Horrible, I tell you!

So, here is what I do now. I greet everyone like I’ve met them 50 times … because, in fact, I actually may have.

If someone asks me if I know their name, I always (in my super sweetest voice) say, “We’re a little outnumbered around here. I’m sorry, but I’m going to need you to help me out.”

So, help me out. How do you remember people’s names? And what do you say if you get caught not knowing someone’s name?

This is my very fun friend Amy Bloye. She agreed to give us a little insight into her role as the Sr Pastor’s Wife.

Check out: her blog and her church

1. What is your role in leadership/ministry?

In different seasons of our church and in different seasons of my ministry I’ve been involved in a variety of leadership roles–from preschool age director to women’s ministry. Several years ago, we started the West Ridge School Of Church Planting, and now I get the opportunity to mentor and encourage church planters’ wives. In addition to working with church planters’ wives, I plan opportunities several times a year for our own pastors’ and directors’ wives to get together.  I enjoy teaching our monthly membership class with my husband, and recently volunteered to host the church small group for my son’s high school freshman class. We are seeing God do some amazing things in that group at our house on Wednesday nights!  The most important thing I do is take care of my family and encourage my husband, Brian.

2. What is your favorite thing about your role?

My favorite thing about my role is that I just hang out with Brian!  He is my favorite person, and I feel called to him.  I really enjoy being the one that gets to encourage him and fill him up and free him up to be all that God called him to be!

3.  What is the most challenging thing?

The most challenging thing about my role is the fact that my boys are extremely involved in sports, and I am therefore, a taxi.  I love it, but it saddens me that in our American culture, kids’ schedules often dictate family life.

4.  What do you wish someone had told you before you started in your area of leadership/ministry?

I would have loved for someone to have freed me up to say “NO” with confidence.  Now I say “NO” to most everything and feel pretty good about it, but it took me a long time to get there. Secondly, and more recently, we have realized that people can only handle so much personal information about their pastor and his family.  We have always been so authentic and transparent.  We still are.  In fact we are opening our home weekly to teenagers and facebooking about what we ate for lunch!  At the same time, we are learning that it is not always helpful for people to know certain details about us (where we went on vacation etc); and we only tell so much.  That is unfortunate, but as our church grows, we are growing a little more inward as a family.  We need that, and our kids need that.

5.  If you could pass one little piece of wisdom to someone else in the same leadership role, what would it be?

If I could pass on a piece of wisdom, I would say do what is IMPORTANT, not what is URGENT.  You cannot do it all, so pick the two or three most important things you want to do in life and do them really really well.  Say “NO” to everything else.  Feel confident in what God has called you to do and do not worry about what everyone else thinks.

Secondly, if you are a pastor’s wife, save some of your energy and fun for your husband. He is a man that people are admiring on a stage, and many women will tell him how great he is and how he has changed her life.

6. How do you meet the needs specific to the people in your town, city, circle of influence?

When it comes to meeting peoples’ needs, I know that I cannot personally take care of everyone.  Honestly, I pray and ask God to give me direction, and when I cannot stop thinking about a specific person and their need, I feel like God has put them on my heart. Then, I personally do something for that person.