Image: Steve Baker | Flickr

Churches cannot and should not be run like businesses.

I’ve always felt that to be true. But, as a pastor, I only knew it in the abstract.

Then, a few years ago I started my own business. You're reading one of the products of it right now. The writing and speaking I ...

Image: Alan Levine | Flickr

Whatever happened to grace?

Not God’s grace for us. That’s more sure than tomorrow’s sunrise.

But what about giving grace to others? Assuming the best of them instead of the worst? Giving people – especially fellow believers – the benefit of the doubt? ...

Image: Tim Green | Flickr

Jesus didn’t value crowds. He didn’t even trust them (John 2:23-24). But he valued the people in them.

Even though they chased him everywhere he went, Jesus and crowds had, at best, a strained relationship. As pastors, we need to keep this in mind as we look at how ...

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What would you say if someone asked you the question in the title of this post?

“What are you improving at your church right now?”

Would you know what to say? It’s an important question.

In fact, if you can't answer that question with at least one specific ...

Image: Ajay Goel | Flickr

"When they zig, you zag."

I don't know who said it first, but a lot of people have said it since.

I'm a zagger.

I’ve tried to be a zigger. To go with the flow, not against it. To pick the low-hanging fruit.

But, time after time, without intending to, I find ...

Image: Tom Cunniff | Flickr

Small churches are becoming big news!

Recently, I had the chance to be interviewed about small churches by two great ministries.

Both interviews were published this week. One in a podcast, the other in a written article.

1. The Thom Rainer Leadership Podcast #338

First, I was honored ...

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There are so many ways to do church.

As long as you’re honoring the Bible, worshiping Jesus and loving people, no method or structure is wrong.

But any method or structure can be done wrong.

Thankfully, it can also be done right.

Whatever program, asset or resource you think ...

Image: Maurizio Pesce

I love church growth.

I also love the Church Growth Movement. It’s brought some wonderful benefits to the church in the last 40 to 50 years. A renewed emphasis on outreach, accurate assessment tools, and an openness to try new methods are just a few of the positives.

But ...

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I spend a fair amount of time on social media. But there are a lot of people who don't even know I'm in a group with them because, while I monitor a lot of conversations, I seldom participate.

I hang out, I follow the conversation, I learn whatever can be gained, but ...

Image: Alec Holyoake | Flickr

Imagine all the time, money and resources that have gone into church growth in the last generation.

Is it naïve to wonder what the world and the church would look like today if all that effort had been invested exclusively in church health instead?

Is it possible that if ...

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I’ve pastored three churches.

I left the first one in the middle of a long-term turnaround, believing it was best for someone else to finish the job I had started.

I left the second one early, when I realized I was not the right pastor to help the turnaround happen.

In the ...

Image: Carissa Rogers | Flickr

So much of what's taught about church methods and structures comes from a corporate mindset.

That's to be expected when most church leadership writers are coming from a large- and megachurch background.

But smaller churches don't operate that way. And they shouldn't. ...

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If you’re a pastor who feels like your voice is being ignored because your church is small, you’re in good company. One of the unsung heroes of World War II faced a similar problem.

Andrew Jackson Higgins was a New Orleans boat builder who saw the importance of something ...

Image: Hitchster | Flickr

Some things become better when they become scalable.

Some don’t.

Some have mixed results.

This is true for churches.

The Positives And Negatives Of Scalability

For instance, the car I drive is cheaper, safer and more fuel-efficient because the assembly line made automobile ...

Image: Keith Tyler | Flickr

Last week’s blog post, Why Some Great Churches Never Impact Their Community, got a lot of feedback on Facebook, Twitter and email.

Several readers were concerned that I had been harder on the church than I needed to be. Their primary concerns were:

1. I made a snap judgment ...