2017

Innovative Ministry
28 Non-Numerical Signs Of A Healthy Church
Numbers are not the only way to determine church health. In many situations, they’re not even the best way.

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 ...

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Church & Culture
Sorry Christians, We Can’t Blame the Media Any More
More than ever before, we have an obligation to act in a Christ-like manner. Not just in church, but everywhere.

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, ...

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Christian Unity
Finally, A Definitive List Of Every Essential Element For An Effective Church
We can't let our guard down in the relentless battle to keep the non-essentials from crowding out the essentials.

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 ...

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Christian Unity
I Don’t Like the Way You Do Church
...but our unity in Christ is much stronger than our differences in style or method.

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
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Small Church Ministry
Signs Of Life: 7 Ways To Find A Great Small Church To Attend And Serve
Look for a church that does small church things well, instead of trying to do big church things on a smaller scale.

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. ...

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Church Leadership
A Leadership Reminder: Your To-Do List Is Not A Plan
To-do lists can keep us on track, but they never create a new track. Only an intentional plan does that.

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 ...

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Church & Culture
4 Ways Your Church Can Help People Simplify Christmas
If we want people to slow down, simplify and learn the joy of giving, our church needs to be a place they can do that.

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 ...

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Innovative Ministry
How Doing Fewer Events Is Helping Our Church Do Better Ministry
If your church, or a department in it, needs to hit the refresh button, it’s not a backwards step to strip things down to the basics.

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 ...

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Small Church Ministry
Being A Small Church Pastor Isn’t A Penalty, It’s A Specialty
Pastoring a small church doesn't mean giving up or settling for less. If you embrace it, you can be great at it.

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 ...

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Innovative Ministry
Hillsong Church Doesn't Sing “Shout To The Lord” Anymore? Good For Them
Instead of hitting the replay button, Hillsong is staying true to their mandate and pressing forward. This is something we can all learn from.

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 ...

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Small Church Ministry
The Church Is Stronger When Small Congregations Are Encouraged, Resourced And Engaged
When their concerns are heard and addressed, small congregations get healthier, and the entire church is stronger.

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, ...

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Small Church Ministry
If Our Church Was Bigger, We Could…
There’s not a single command to the church that cannot be accomplished by two or three people who love Jesus, each other, and the community they’re called to reach. 

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, ...

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Small Church Ministry
6 Benefits of Embracing the Fact that You’re a Small Church Pastor
If you’re a small church pastor, don’t resist it, embrace it. Then be great at it.

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 ...

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Church Growth
Sorry, Pastor – Numbers Are NOT People
Church metrics can be helpful. But only if we use them wisely. And hold them lightly.

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 ...

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Church Growth
Let’s Ask Better Questions About Church Size
Instead of asking “what’s the best church size?” we need to ask “what’s the best church size for a given situation?”

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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