2016
Leading a church through change is hard. Even when it’s necessary.
In the 23-plus years I’ve been serving at Cornerstone, I’ve learned one principle that has helped keep everyone, including me, open to necessary changes without feeling overwhelmed by them.
Here’s ...
Where are all the great small churches?
Would you know one if you saw one?
They exist. There’s no doubt about that. There are great small churches in every country, serving every ethnic group and in virtually every language. They worship in every imaginable liturgical style ...
Unspeakable evil visited Orlando over the weekend.
More than a tragedy. More than a disaster.
Evil.
In trying to make sense of events like this, we’re all capable of saying something stupid.
Christians are no exception to this. Sometimes we say dumb things. Things that hurt ...
Just when you think you’re ahead of the curve, the curve moves. Especially if you’re a small church pastor.
My parents sent me to college with a Smith Corona typewriter in 1978. It was electric and portable. I was ahead of the curve.
Then one day, I saw a crowd gathering ...
We live in an increasingly post-denominational world. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, it’s just the way things are now.
Years ago, virtually every friend I had in ministry was within my denomination. Every program we used came from our denominational headquarters. ...
We need to hear from the small, not just the big.
From the poor, not just the rich.
From the weak, not just the strong.
From the failures, not just the successes.
From the struggling, not just from those who have overcome.
From those who are still vulnerable, hurting and who will ...
Churches get stuck sometimes.
If you’re a pastor, you’ve known seasons when it’s hard to get church members to do great things for Jesus.
Good things.
Okay — anything.
During our church’s years of being stuck, I longed for the day when launching a new ...
Yesterday I got frustrated while reading Tony Morgan’s latest blog post.
But it wasn’t Tony’s fault.
Tony Morgan is the founder of The Unstuck Group and he’s starting a new series on growth strategies for churches of different sizes.
In the first sentence, ...
“If it’s okay for a church to be small, how do you suggest we measure a church’s success?”
Since I’ve begin ministering to small churches, I’ve been asked that question more than any other. Maybe more than all other questions combined
At first ...
I like working efficiently.
Every time I figure out a new way to work smarter, not harder, it’s like finding a $20 bill in an old coat.
Shortcuts, life hacks and time management tools are a great blessing, allowing me to get more done in less time, with a higher degree of ...
All my life I’ve heard preachers talk about a coming worldwide revival.
But it’s never happened.
There have been pockets of excitement. From the Jesus Movement of the 1970s to local spiritual outbreaks today. Along with controversy over their genuineness and effectiveness. ...
Church growth is an essential element in the Great Commission. But bigger churches are not.
This is not an anti-big-church rant. I love big churches. They're great. They're like padded seats, air conditioning and microphones. They can all be valuable tools, but they’re ...
Apparently the church is losing the culture wars.
We must be. My Facebook feed says so. And Facebook never lies, right?
Today it’s about bathrooms. Tomorrow it will be something else.
Each issue is presented as ‘The Most Important Issue of Our Time!’ Until the ...
It’s been four years since I've had writer's block.
No, that’s not right. I still get writer’s block.
It’s been four years since writer’s block has stopped me from writing.
Yes, that’s more like it.
Writer’s block has always been ...
The church I pastor has reached our capacity. Not our seating capacity. Our ministry capacity.
We can't do any more ministry than we are currently doing. Unless we change the way we do it.
Last Saturday I spent the day with our church's key leaders and we reached one simple ...
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