2018
The church belongs to Jesus.
It is not owned by its denomination, its donors, its members, its staff or its lead pastor.
Jesus said he would build his church – and he’s not about to give up that ownership to us or our ideas.
As a pastor, this is a lesson I need to remind ...
Conflict is inevitable. Even in a healthy marriage, family and church.
Like healthy marriages and families, healthy churches don’t avoid conflict, but they deal with it well.
I’ve been in pastoral ministry for more than 35 years. In the early days, I dealt with more ...
If you’re a control freak, I have one word of advice.
Don’t become the pastor of a small church. (Actually, I’d advise you not to pastor any church. We have enough control freaks in the pulpit already.)
It’s a common misperception that the smaller a church ...
What’s wrong with today’s younger generations?
I hear that question all the time. Especially from my fellow Baby Boomers.
The quick answer?
Nothing.
Nothing is wrong with the current and upcoming generations that hasn’t been wrong with every previous generation. ...
The internet is a great place for debate. I love throwing ideas out there, stirring up interest and reading other passionate opinions.
But the anonymity of the internet also has a way of turning mean people loose. And that stifles, sometimes kills, the opportunity for healthy, ...
The Bible has never been more popular.
It’s everywhere. From our bookshelves, to our laptops, phones, e-readers and audio books.
Virtually anyone can gain instant access to the Bible in multiple languages and translations, including the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. ...
Some of the strongest statements are made in the simplest ways.
This is true of leadership. Especially Christian leadership. People will learn more from what we do than what we say.
For instance, if we are going to teach and preach against greed and pride, we need to live a life ...
There are a lot of voices yelling at us.
Stop that! Buy this! Do it now!
And it’s all accelerated by the device you’re currently using.
In such a loud, hurried world, it’s tempting to think that the only way to get our message and our ministry heard is to raise ...
Celebrating small churches is great.
Doing it by putting down our brothers and sisters who attend, worship, serve and lead in larger churches?
That’s just wrong.
But it keeps happening.
Because I love and promote the value of small churches, well-meaning people keep coming ...
For over 25 years I’ve lived and pastored in Orange County, California.
In the last 50 years this county has experienced as much megachurch success as anywhere else on earth. We’ve given birth to the Crystal Cathedral, Calvary Chapel, The Vineyard, TBN, Saddleback ...
One of the biggest frustrations faced by small church pastors is a lack of resources, including so-called human resources. “If only I had more money, a better building, more people or the right people” we complain, “then we could really get something done at ...
William Vanderbloemen is the CEO and Founder of Vanderbloemen Search Group. a recruitment and consulting firm for churches. Previously, he served as the senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Houston. Recently, William interviewed me for his podcast and I interviewed ...
Does God’s vision for our life, church and ministry have to be big to be real?
I keep hearing that it does. Sayings like “if your vision isn’t big enough to scare you, it’s not from God” have been popular for quite some time now. Apparently we’re ...
Small church pastors are some of the hardest-working, most passionate and sacrificial people anywhere.
They serve without fanfare, helping in ways most people will never see. And they face challenges that many will never experience.
In over five years of writing, speaking and ...
Where did we get the idea that small churches are small because there’s something wrong with them and/or their pastors?
There are millions of small church pastors doing great, kingdom-building work with little or no budget, little or no facilities and little or no salary. ...
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