Innovative Ministry
7 Ways Preaching Bad Sermons Can Help You Preach Better Sermons
There will be times when you feel uninspired, unprepared and empty. Preach anyway.
7 Ways Preaching Bad Sermons Can Help You Preach Better Sermons
Image: Kane Reinholdtsen | Unsplash

Some skills can be practiced in private. Some have to be worked out in the hard, cold spotlight in front of other people.

Writing is the first kind of skill. You can tweak it with no one watching. For instance, I made a bunch of mistakes in this article that you will never see, ...

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Church & Culture
Celebrating The Essential Role Of The Historically Small Church
Let’s help today’s small churches be as great as yesterday’s small churches.
Celebrating The Essential Role Of The Historically Small Church
Image: Jamie Street | Unsplash

Why do I love small churches?

Because I love the church.

It’s really hard to love the church and not have a warm spot for smaller congregations. They are, after all, the most common representation of the gathered body of Christ.

Also, I love small churches because I’m ...

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Small Church Ministry
Why Are There So Few Resources For Churches Under 50?
If you’ve learned something practical about pastoring a very small church, we need to get that information out to others.
Why Are There So Few Resources For Churches Under 50?
Image: Katerina Kerdi | Unsplash

There are a lot of small churches in the world.

By most estimates, over 90 percent of churches are under 200, and over 80 percent are under 100. In fact, it’s not unusual for half of the congregations within a denomination to have 50 or fewer people in attendance.

So why ...

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Church & Culture
To Spiritual Seekers, Doubters And Abandoners: We’ll Hold A Place For You
I stand with Jesus because I can find no other ground strong enough to hold the weight of my faith, my doubt or my hope.
To Spiritual Seekers, Doubters And Abandoners: We’ll Hold A Place For You
Image: Olesya Grichina | Unsplash

There are a lot of spiritual seekers and spiritual orphans around.

And there are more every day. Including those who seemed to be firm in their faith.

Many long-time believers, even church leaders, are making statements questioning their faith. Others are taking a break from church ...

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Christian Unity
Why We Don't Have To Give In To Hopelessness
Life gets hard. Faith may feel futile. Hope can seem distant. But we can always persevere...
Why We Don't Have To Give In To Hopelessness
Image: Kelsey Graeter | Flickr

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...because Jesus.

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Church Leadership
The Distracted Pastor
It's great to have online influence, but not at the cost of our family or the congregation we’ve been called to lead and guide with love.
The Distracted Pastor
Image: Cristofer Jeschke | Unsplash

Last week, I came across a wonderful Twitter thread. I asked the writer, Matt Henslee, if he would edit it into a blog post that I could use here. He had just done so for his own website, but he also gave me permission to pass it along to you. (Karl Vaters)

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Innovative Ministry
There Is No Minimum Viable Size For A Church
There have always been a whole lot of viable churches with just a handful of people in them.
There Is No Minimum Viable Size For A Church
Image: Fleur / Unsplash

What is the minimum viable size for a church?

It’s a big question. One that pastors, denominational leaders and church planters ask a lot.

But the truth is, there is no minimum viable size for a church.

None.

What We Need A Minimum Size To Be Viable For

So why do we think there ...

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