About
About Jim
Dr. Jim Pace is an author, pastor, and the founder of Discerning Partners, an organization dedicated to guiding churches, organizations, and leaders from confusion to clarity.
In addition to his pastoral work, Jim has been consulting for churches and coaching pastors for over fifteen years. In May 2021, he transitioned to full-time consulting and coaching, working with churches, leadership teams, non-profits, and denominational leadership teams both domestically and internationally.
Jim holds a master's degree in Church Leadership and a doctoral degree in Contextual Theology, equipping him with insights into understanding church and organizational cultures to chart effective paths forward.
As an author, Jim wrote "Should We Fire God?", addressing finding hope in God amidst confusion and tragedy.
He is also co-writing "The First Five - How the first five years of ministry set up the rest" and developing a book based on his doctoral research on conflicts arising from differing LGBTQIA+ positions within churches.
Through Discerning Partners, Jim leverages his extensive pastoral and consulting experience to assist leaders in discerning their paths and implementing strategies to fulfill their missions effectively.
Leading a church or an organization is an incredible blessing, but at the same time it can be very tough.
What things do you pay attention to and what things do you allow to roll off your back? How do you navigate the situations when different people say the same God is saying different things? How do you get (and keep) a good read of the people in your flock?
When I was a pastor, I was once asked, “If you could delete one question from your life that would make each day easier, what would it be?” I had never been asked that before or thought about it, but instantly I knew the answer for me. “What am I missing?” That question would often plague me late into the night and sometimes long after a decision had already been made.
Was I getting a good read of things? Was I honoring what the Spirit was directing us to do, or just doing what I thought was best?
We are familiar with that question, and the others that can plague pastors and organizational leaders. What you are doing, in your context, is specific to you. So no “this is the way everyone does it” answers will work. What we want to do is walk beside you, walk with you, and bring our experience and expertise to the situations that your church is facing, in the context you are facing it in.
We want to help you to discern, which comes from the Latin “to pull apart or separate” what God is calling you to do. Then to help you with the implementation of that discernment. After all, how many of us have read great books, been to great conferences, or had great ideas that never ultimately went anywhere? Understanding your context, seeing how those ideas can be developed, and then implementing them well is the key.
At Discerning Partners, we say that we help churches, organizations and leaders move from confusion to clarity. We would love to do that with you. Click the link below and we can get started.
Jim Pace
Founder and Director,
Discerning Partners
