2019
How many of my fellow pastors are prepping their 20/20 vision statements right now, I wonder?
It reminds me of what happened in 2010. Back then, there were a whole lot of churches, ministries and individuals promoting their 10-year plans for their 2020 vision.
The idea of having ...
Volunteer leaders are the backbone of the church.
This is true in churches of all sizes, but especially in small churches which may be led exclusively by volunteers.
After all, volunteers can quit at any time. And when they do, it actually frees up more of their spare time. So ...
On any given Sunday, even the smallest, simplest church service juggles an amazing array of complex issues.
- Set-up to tear-down
- Relationships to administration
- Spiritual to emotional
- Planned events to unplanned interruptions
- and more.
But too often we reduce the value of this beautiful, ...
The church won’t change the world by adopting new methods. We won’t even save the church that way.
What will change the world is a praying church. A loving church. A worshiping church. An outward-reaching church. A Jesus-centric church.
The Great Commandment and the ...
Christianity has always been a faith in pursuit of the truth. Because of that, we’re not afraid of solid scientific research. In fact, we support it.
After all, our faith rests, not on a set of ideas or behaviors, but on a verifiable historical fact, the bodily resurrection ...
So you’ve found something you care about.
You’re involved. You feel like you’re making a difference.
Then you post about it on social media. Not to brag, just because that’s what you do with causes you care about.
Most of the responses are positive and uplifting, ...
There are very few pastors who would say that bigger churches are inherently better than smaller churches. But most pastors believe it would be better if their church got bigger.
Not only do most pastors want their churches to get bigger, they believe it’s worth an extraordinary ...
We’re all trying to understand the most essential elements of our existence.
Life, love, faith, family, church... and toilet paper rolls (under or over?)
No one has it all figured out.
This is why teachers need to start from an attitude of humility. Especially if we’re ...
Don’t take it personally.”
That may be the worst piece of advice I’ve ever received about ministry. It fails on so many levels.
Here are six of them.
1. Jesus Took Ministry Very Personally
Can you imagine Jesus giving anyone that advice? “Take up your cross ...
Today's article was written by Bernie Harding, the community pastor of Peel Elim Community Church, where her husband is the pastor. Peel is a town of 6,000 people on the Isle of Man. Bernie is responsible for running the community centre, kids church, some evangelism projects, ...
What’s happening with church attendance?
In just the last few weeks I’ve heard some of my fellow pastors say
- “What is it with people lately? Does church just not matter anymore?”
- “Is it just me, or do people in your church use the summer months as a get out of church card, too?”
One of the first steps to figuring out what you do well is to find out what you don’t do well and cross it off your list.
That’s how I ended up being the “go-to small church guy”.
No matter how hard I tried, how much I learned, how often I prayed, or how ...
When I hear about people leaving the church, my heart breaks.
Certainly, the church is messy. It’s broken. It’s in constant need of repentance, forgiveness, revitalization, renewal and reappraisal.
That’s how it is with families.
And, because the church truly ...
The universe is trying to tell us something.”
Last night as I was watching TV, a character said that line so matter-of-factly that it almost rolled past me without notice. After all, I’ve heard people say that in person and in popular entertainment hundreds of times. ...
Never underestimate the possibility that someone will misunderstand what you’re saying.
That’s always been one of my guiding principles whenever I speak or write. And it’s becoming more important every day for anyone who wants to communicate accurately, clearly ...
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