Church Leadership
I love keeping to-do lists. They help me stay on task, keep track of my progress, determine who should be doing what, and so much more.
But I have to constantly remind myself that a to-do list is not a plan.
Starting a to-do list isn’t the creation of a plan, and crossing ...
I’ve always tried to live my life and do ministry by this rule:
Don’t try to be successful. Try to do good work.
- Not people-pleasing work, God-honoring work
- Not self-promoting work, Christ-magnifying work
- Not numbers-driven work, Spirit-led work
The one time in my ministry ...
A healthy prayer life is hard work.
If you’re one of those Christians who finds your prayer life to be easy, joyous and endlessly fulfilling, we’re grateful for you and the role you play in the body of Christ. But that’s not the way it is for most of us.
Pastors ...
My pastor is so hard to please!
I’ve had a lot of conversations with church staff members and volunteers. Their most commonly repeated frustration usually goes like this:
“Nothing makes my pastor happy! Last week we had the best youth night ever. The kids worshiped ...
No one can truly pastor 1,000 people. Or 500.
Even 200 is stretching yourself too thin. That’s why the so-called 200 barrier is such a challenge.
So, if you want to lead a large church, at some point you’ll have to give up most of what it means to be a pastor. Maybe ...
Pastors face a lot of pressure to perform. Some of it, admittedly, is self-imposed.
One of the main places this pressure is felt is in the demand to research, write and deliver a great sermon every week.
In fact, several times in the last few months, I’ve read blog posts ...
Church turnarounds are hard, but so rewarding.
When a church that was sick and dying goes through a revitalization that puts them back on the path of effective mission, it’s something we ought to celebrate and learn from.
And it can act as a huge encouragement to other churches ...
Too many pastors suffer from PCM. Punch-the-clock mentality. And if you don't, you may be struggling to work with church leaders who do.
PCM usually develops in people who have spent their entire working lives in jobs where they get paid hourly. Every work day they punch ...
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 ...
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 ...
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