June 2018

Church & Culture
10 Ways to Disagree Online Without Being a Jerk
Insults are more likely to push undecided people away from your side, not towards it.

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, ...

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Church & Culture
5 Reasons To Preach ABOUT The Bible, Not Just FROM The Bible
Teaching people how to read and study the Bible is the best way to help them distinguish good teaching from shallow or bad teaching.

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. ...

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Church Leadership
Park Farthest Away: 5 Simple Pastoral Habits To Defy Our “Me First” Culture
Leadership is an opportunity to serve. Anyone who doesn’t see it that way is not a leader, just a boss.

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 ...

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Church & Culture
The Importance Of Doing lowercase ministry In An ALL CAPS World
We can be loud, or we can be heard. But we can seldom do both.

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 ...

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Christian Unity
“Small Churches Are Better Than Big Churches!” No. Just… No.
Some people prefer small churches over big churches. I do, too. But our personal preferences are not universal truths.

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 ...

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Church & Culture
Has The Rise Of Megachurches Elevated Our Communities?
Communities with successfully growing churches should be feeling the impact of those churches on their overall culture.

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 ...

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Christian Unity
Why "Get The Right People On The Bus" Doesn't Always Work For A Small Church Staff
People are not on the bus to get you to your destination; they are the destination. People worshipping Jesus and sharing His love with others.

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 ...

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Small Churches, Leadership And Culture: Karl Vaters Interviews William Vanderbloemen
"You are the green berets in the Kingdom. You're on the frontline. You're doing the job that is often thankless but is perhaps most important."
Small Churches,  Leadership And Culture: Karl Vaters Interviews William Vanderbloemen

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 ...

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Innovative Ministry
No, A God-Sized Vision Doesn’t Need To Be Big And Scary
Faith and leadership are more about long stretches of waiting, wandering and wondering than massive, scary leaps.

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 ...

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Christian Unity
The 3 Most Common Challenges Small Church Pastors Face – And How To Help
Small church pastors need friendship and encouragement. Especially from their peers in pastoral ministry.

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 ...

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