The World's Okayest Pastor

I learned many things while I was in seminary. I learned things from books, my professors and teachers, classmates. I learned a lot about my self during the process. Some of it was easy, others were very painful. I came away with a lot of knowledge. However as I have lived into this thing called ministry I have a list of things I wish I had been told, taught. So here is what I have learned and lived into so maybe it'll help others. Plus some of it is just plain funny how I learned these things. Laws and Rules- Although many churches are exempt from certain things, they are still called to follow many laws and rules. One of the main ones that comes up often is copyright laws and rules. Churches are notorious  for being communities of paper. We make a lot of copies of things and hand them out: bulletins, newsletters, inserts, etc. And while this isn't all bad to give people something to read and to take home it brings up the question of what are congregations legally allowed t...