2017
Christians worship and serve Jesus in so many different ways.
Sure, there’s a foundation of correct theology and behavior that needs to exist for any group to legitimately call themselves a church. Among them are:
- The divinity of Jesus
- Salvation through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus
Let's admit something to ourselves. All the arguments we have over church size are about our personal preferences, nothing more. Apples and oranges.
There is zero evidence to suggest that big or small churches are more biblical or more effective, no matter how much we want ...
Big churches and small churches all have something to contribute to the body of Christ.
But, because of their size, the contributions of big churches tend to get noticed more. That’s okay. We don’t do this to be seen. (At least we shouldn’t).
And sometimes the ...
Every church needs to be more missional. More outward-reaching. More evangelistic. More outside-the-walls.
One of the best indicators of whether-or-not a church is healthy is how much they're reaching people who aren't already in the congregation. The more outward-looking, ...
You can't program a church from unhealthy to healthy.
No amount of special events, Big Days or new ideas can cause a broken church to become whole.
There is no book, no conference, no blog post or podcast that will give you the key to church renewal or revival.
Sure, those ...
We have to start letting go of some of our long-held ideas about church and ministry. Especially when it comes to evangelism and outreach.
But it’s not always easy.
Here’s a true story that illustrates that reality. (I’ve kept some details vague, and adjusted ...
Big churches and small churches are very different.
Not in their mission, their doctrine or their value to the kingdom of God, but in many of the ways they fulfill that mission.
They're pastored differently, they utilize people's gifts differently, they reach their communities ...
There’s a lot of upheaval going on in the church right now. And it’s not even close to being over.
There will be a great many local congregations and denominations that will not survive into the next generation or two. But that doesn't mean the church is dying. ...
There are two interesting, but conflicting conversations happening among church leaders right now. Especially, but not exclusively, on social media.
On the one hand, people are decrying the supposed shallowness of today's worship songs.
On the other hand, there's a push ...
When a pastor says "we count people because people count" and "numbers matter because every number is a person," I agree.
Everyone in a church service, a discipleship class or a small group is a person for whom Jesus died. And knowing how many of them are ...
Church planters are some of the great heroes of the faith. Especially when you realize how many church plants fail within the first few years.
But I wonder, how many failed churches might still be alive and well today if we didn’t pressure them to reach numerical goals ...
A lot of people are talking and writing about leaving the Christian faith lately.
For many, their reasons are profound and horrifying. I have and will write about those tragedies, but this article is not about that. It’s about others who are leaving for reasons that are ...
When you love something, there's always more to discover in it. That was the essence of a conversation I had recently about the value of small church ministry.
It began with a question.
"What you're doing with small churches is great, but won't you have to expand ...
If you were on Facebook in the last few days, you heard from Jayden K. Smith.
Actually, you didn’t hear from Jayden, you heard a lot about Jayden.
For those not on Facebook, here’s what happened.
Someone started a rumor that if you accepted a friend request from Jayden ...
The Bible uses many colorful words to describe the church. It’s a family, a body, a fellowship, a holy people, a flock, and more.
But not a business.
In my previous post, I wrote about Why It's A Bad Idea To Run A Church Like A Business. In today’s post, I want ...
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