2017
If numbers aren’t the only way to tell if a church is healthy, what else is there?
I get that question a lot. Mostly from other pastors.
And no, they’re not being facetious when they ask it. They truly don’t know the answer.
Isn’t that … I don’t ...
Christians love playing the “blame the media” game.
Not long ago, we might have had a legitimate claim that our reputation was bad because the media was against us. That’s not the case anymore.
Oh sure, the media in general may still think negatively about Christians, ...
Too many church leaders spend unnecessary time on a stack of things that aren’t essential for an effective church.
But what are the essentials?
Good news. I’ve found the definitive list and today I’m going to share it with you.
But first, a few things that aren’t ...
I don’t like the way you do church.
- The music is too loud or too soft
- The clothes are too casual or too formal
- The preaching is too emotional or too academic
- The pastor is too unavailable or too hands-on
- The building is too ornate or too bland
- The liturgy is too old or too new
A lot of people would like to worship in a small church if they could find a good one.
That’s what I keep hearing, anyway.
So, with all the small churches around, why do so many people seem to have a hard time finding a good one? It’s not because they don’t exist. ...
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 ...
It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but Christmas is also the busiest.
A few years ago, our small church decided we weren’t going to compete with all the shopping, school plays, office parties and visits to Santa that were filling people’s calendars. We ...
No one is running around our church, setting up activities today.
Even though it’s October 31 as I write this, we’re not decorating our cars, prepping games in our classrooms, or cooking food in our kitchen.
Because this year, for the first time in many years, we’re ...
For years I bucked against the idea that I am a small church pastor.
Instead of seeing it as my calling, my heart and my passion, I treated it like it was my penalty for not having the skills to be a big church pastor.
So I consumed every church growth book and devoured all the ...
Every church has a calling.
In addition to the mission we all share – namely, the Great Commandment and Great Commission – every congregation has a specific reason they exist.
For Hillsong Church, a big part of that calling has been to write, sing and send their songs ...
The body of Christ can't afford to alienate small churches any longer.
Especially since we make up 90 percent of churches, where half of all Christians attend, worship and minister.
Imagine any other group in which that large a segment of its population regularly felt marginalized, ...
Pastoring a small church can be frustrating.
We look around at our big church counterparts and it’s easy to wonder what it would be like if our church had all those resources.
So, sometimes we play the “what if...” game.
We imagine ourselves in those churches, ...
Discovering and embracing the fact that I am a small church pastor was one of the most liberating moments of my life.
It took me years to get there, but once I did… wow! What a relief!
As I’ve outlined in The Grasshopper Myth, I went through a lot of years not willing ...
Numbers matter at our church because every number is a person.
No.
Just… No.
I don’t doubt that most pastors who say that mean it. And they truly do care for people. But numbers are not people and people are not numbers.
Most businesses are figuring this out, so why ...
What‘s the best church size?
Many church leaders might argue that, whatever your size, “just a little bigger” would be better.
Many house church attenders would propose that smaller is better.
There are followers of John Wesley’s Rule of 150 who make a good ...
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