👋🏼 Hey there, I’m Evan. I’m the coach of The Alignment Lab. I spent 18 years in full-time pastoral ministry and over 20 years at the same church prior to my own major life transition. I’m also the host of The In-Between podcast — where I chat about transition with guests such as Suzanne Stabile, Andy Squyres, Kathryn Maack, Tyler Reagin, Kristi Gaultiere, Michael Shahan, and more. After 18 years in pastoral ministry — and over 20 years at the same church — I stepped away. It wasn’t just a career change. It was an unraveling of a life I had built. I’ve successfully walked through: 👉 Vocational upheaval and change. 👉 The grief of relational loss. 👉 The deep identity questions that come when the role you built your life closes. I’ve also experienced what’s on the other side: 👉 Rebuilding trust in myself and in God’s ongoing work in my life. 👉 Recognizing my strengths and skills still matter, even outside the context I once relied on. 👉 A new season that’s aligned with calling and meaning, instead of the roles and expectations I thought I had to live up to. That’s why I created this community. So you don’t just grit your teeth and get through this season — but allow it to become the space that shapes you, realigns you, and sets you up to flourish on the other side. Oh yeah, I'm into collecting arrowheads, a gym rat, and writing content, lots of it. What about you??

Hey there! Coffee Break Q&A is tomorrow at 4:30 pm EST. What's on your mind? What questions do you want to discuss? Share them in the comments below!

My early days of pastoring were in a time when Sunday’s were gametime - Everything was about Sunday. I think this is shifting towards facilitating, curating, and creating spaces where people can support each other and grow in faith collectively… from sermon-based gatherings to community and relational engagement.

Is it the end of the Preaching Era? Information, Content, and Access to the best communicators across the world is available at our fingertips. What’s not quite as accessible? Friendship, relationship, and community in the places we live. Is the emphasis shifting from, ‘listen to this sermon’ to ‘let us help you find community?’ It’s happening online. Information overload is real and people don’t want or need more content from the creators they follow. People want access and to grow in like minded groups. Is it possible this same transformation is happening inside the church? Not that preaching is or should ever go away, but more-so the need or emphasis of how the church can best serve people today is? The busyness-loneliness epidemic that was beginning to surface around 2015 only confirms that people want & need more connection, even more today. If the emphasis is, ‘listen to this preaching’ and does not include, ‘there is support and a group of people for you’ churches could miss opportunity.

Citing your references may seem minor, but it is an act of honor. Sharing others’ quotes, ideas, or thoughts and allowing your church to assume they are original to you is deceptive. Plus, people can easily use Google to find the source, which will deteriorate trust and lessen your credibility. What’s at the core when pastors don’t cite their sources? I know for me it came down to two things: 1. A lack of understanding about the importance of doing so 2. Insecurity and wanting to seem insightful.