2016
“Keep Christ in Christmas” is a familiar saying this time of the year. But you don’t expect to hear it from the local rabbi.
For several years I was involved in our town’s Police Chaplaincy. One year, at our December meeting, the Methodist pastor noticed ...
They just don’t get it.
How many times have I said that while shaking my head after attending a conference or reading blog posts and books about church leadership? I could write a book.
Oh, right. I did.
I know I’m not alone in this. If you’re a small church pastor, ...
Why are there so many small churches in the world?
Ninety percent of churches have fewer than 200 people. Eighty percent have under 100.
Small churches are not in the minority. We are the overwhelmingly dominant way people have always chosen to worship Jesus.
Yet, despite this, ...
I hate opera. And Brussels sprouts. And spiders.
But I'm glad they exist. Because they all serve important functions.
Saying I don't like something is not the same as saying it's bad.
Opera isn't bad. In fact, it's artistically important and brings joy to many ...
I have friends I’m not supposed to have.
From every imaginable political, theological, social, ethnic background, and more.
People with whom I have radical, even angry disagreements.
Yet they remain my friends.
Not just in the Facebook way. In the old-school, meet face-to-face ...
The church needs fewer bosses, more leaders.
And even more servants. In the pulpits, not just the pews.
Sadly, too few people in positions of authority know the difference between being a boss or being a leader. Mostly, because we haven't grasped servanthood.
There are some ...
I’m a huge supporter and promoter of growing churches.
How can I not be? Jesus said he’d build his church, and I always want to be on Jesus’ side.
But I’ve stopped using the term Church Growth when I talk about it.
I never tell our church staff, volunteers ...
Staff, deacons, department heads, volunteers and others.
Even in a small church, there are several types of leaders. And we need to have healthy, open communication with them.
Recently I was asked, “in a small church, how often should church leadership meetings be held?” ...
Everyone in church leadership seems to be talking about how to reach millennials.
But what do you do when your church is filled with seniors? Is there a way to build a strong church with them? Or does it always have to be about younger people?
I hear those questions a lot. And ...
The idea that small churches can be great churches is a hard concept for a lot of people to swallow.
I get it. It was hard for me to swallow for a lot of years, too.
So when people raise questions about it, I appreciate their concerns and I try to engage with them in some constructive ...
There are three primary participants in a local church. God, the pastor and the congregation.
Trying to turn a church from unhealthy to healthy without all three in full cooperation, will lead to frustration, failure and heartache.
Knowing and expanding the zone where the hearts ...
Leading an existing church through a turnaround from unhealthy to healthy is one of the hardest tasks a pastor will ever be called to do.
And it’s even harder when we’re trying to do so without understanding some basic principles needed for a successful turnaround ...
Do you want your church to experience a turnaround? If so, why?
There are a lot of good reasons. Among them, you might want to see your church move from:
- Unhealthy to healthy
- Inward-obsessed to outward-focused
- Stuck in the past to excited about the future
- Unloving to loving
- Uninviting to inviting
Small churches can be healthy churches.
But how can we know if they’re healthy without the numerical growth to prove it?
If you want to find answers, we need to ask the right questions.
A couple weeks ago I spoke to about 60 church leaders in six sessions at a 48 hour conference. ...
Many pastors wouldn’t attend their own church if they weren’t the pastor.
How do I know? I’ve talked with a lot of them.
Sometimes it’s because the church is unhealthy, dysfunctional, even toxic. But many times it’s because of something far less problematic. ...
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