May 2018

Christian Unity
Small Church Pastors: A Tribute To The Forgotten Heroes
Is it possible that we have as much to learn from small church pastors as we have to teach them?

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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Church Leadership
4 Steps To Start Moving From Teaching A Crowd To Equipping The Saints
Teaching requires two things: a competent instructor and receptive students. Equipping and discipling require much more.

So, my last blog post stirred up a lot more response than I expected.

In The Biggest Mistake Teaching Pastors Tend to Make – And How To Correct It, I encouraged pastors to move from being a teaching pastor to an equipping pastor, based on the Pastoral Prime Mandate of Ephesians ...

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Church Leadership
The Biggest Mistake Teaching Pastors Tend to Make – And How To Correct It
Jesus didn’t tell us to teach students, he commanded us to make disciples.

If you are a teaching pastor, I have a gift for you. I’m going to share one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in 35+ years of pastoral ministry.

It happened when I recognized that I was commiting what is probably the biggest mistake most teaching pastors ...

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Bigger? Or Better? Yes, Your Church Has A Choice
“It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if you’re maximizing growth, you’re also maximizing success.” (Bo Burlingham, in Small Giants)
Bigger? Or Better? Yes, Your Church Has A Choice
Image: From cover of Small Giants, by Bo Burlingham

Better churches become bigger churches. Right?

Maybe not.

That’s been the rule of thumb for businesses, too. And it’s no more true there than it is for us.

As it turns out, constant growth doesn’t work for the majority of churches or businesses. Yet they can still ...

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Church Growth
In Addition To "Why Is Your Church So Small?" We Need To Ask “Why Do We Want It To Be Big?”
As hard as we work to grow bigger, how many of us stop to ask the essential question “what are the advantages of bigness?”

By far, the most common question I’m asked about small church ministry is “if your church is healthy, why is it so small?”

It’s a valid question, for sure. And one that I’ve answered in several previous blog posts, including these:

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Church Leadership
The Two Biggest Mistakes Churches Make With Money
The answer to bad stewardship isn’t more money or more faith. It’s better stewardship.

There are two equal, but opposite mistakes churches regularly make regarding money.

Especially for smaller churches, these are the main ways that finances (or lack of them) stop us from doing the ministry we’re called to do.

(This is part of an ongoing series, Money and ...

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How To Give Money Less Power Over Your Church
A congregation's financial reality should never be ignored, but it should never be in charge.

Money is in charge of too many of our churches.

So many good congregations want to do great ministry, but their limited finances cause them to make too many decisions based on what they can or can’t afford, instead of what God is calling them to do.

It’s a trap that ...

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Church & Culture
9 Common Social Media Tactics That Never Draw Anyone Closer To Jesus
For most, maybe all of these tactics, I can see the good motive behind it. But good intentions are not enough.

Social media has no moral component to it – except the ones we give it. It's just a tool.

A very powerful one.

And we’re only beginning to grasp its impact.

When used well it can connect, inform and entertain us. But when it’s used poorly, as it so often is, ...

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Church Leadership
Churches Renovate Their Building, On Average, Every 30 Years? Really?!
A church building doesn’t have to be big, fancy or cutting-edge. But it needs to facilitate the mission.

Uh… Wow.

Every 30 years?

Yes, those are the stats, according to a church renovation expert I heard at a recent conference.

By the time his company is called in to help a church renovate their sanctuary, lobby, exterior or anything significant, it’s been three full ...

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Time, Not Money, Is The New Church Commitment Currency
Church giving patterns are changing. Here are 5 ways to get our churches ready for that reality.

The Sunday morning pass-the-plate offering has always been a reliable predictor of the commitment level of church members.

Long before they started leaving – often before many started complaining – people would express their dissatisfaction with a church by stopping ...

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Church & Culture
Church Attendance Patterns Are Changing And We Have To Adapt
It’s not enough be an attractional church, a caring church, or even a teaching church. We need to become an equipping church.

Church attendance is changing.

As recently as 20 years ago, if ten people became church members (either formally or informally) the average attendance grew by eight or nine people.

Not any more.

Today, if ten people become church members, average attendance grows by five or six. ...

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