Music isn’t a part of worship for today’s generations – it is the primary act of worship. Whereas classic worship services break up songs with other worship tools, such as responsive readings, prayers, etc., successful alternative worship services produce music “sets,” similar to a concert with one song leading directly into another for a sustained […]
November 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The Importance of Christmas Eve
It’s not too early to begin thinking about what you’re going to do to capitalize on the pagan holiday known as Christmas. Yes, you heard me correctly – Christmas is a pagan holiday. But contrary to what you might think, being a pagan holiday makes it even that more valuable evangelism tool than you think. […]
September 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A Quiet Mainline Rant
There are lots of things that frustrate church consultants. For me, at least lately, the biggest bang-my-head-against-a-wall issue is “denominational distractions.” Let me give you a real-world example. Last summer, my denomination (Disciples of Christ) took a historical vote on who’s welcome on which side of the Lord’s Table. We’re not the first mainline denomination […]
September 18, 2013 by 5 Comments
Stop Inviting People to Church … and Grow Your Church Anyway
This weekend I’m working with a church that desperately wants to grow … well, the pastor wants it to grow. He asked his core leaders about their inviting experiences and to a one they all said shades of the same thing: “I’ve invited all my friends to church and they’re not interested.” Well, Duh!! Unless […]
September 7, 2013 by 1 Comment
Re-Think Your Budget Priorities
I was reading an article by Amy Butler on the ABP News site recently on the season of church budgets. She was responding to a writer who was comparing church budgets with other Non Profit Organizations. Basically, the writer was complaining that the church spent too much money on staff and buildings and not enough […]
August 31, 2013 by 8 Comments
Why Most Church Mission Statements Aren’t Effective
A mission statement defines the purpose of an individual, group, business, or institution. Ostensibly, a mission statement defines the “end result” of the organization’s activities. “Shareholder profitability” may sound self-serving, but that is exactly the results expected of a publicly held corporation. The reason so many churches’ mission statements don’t achieve the expected results is […]
August 20, 2013 by 6 Comments
Liturgy, Pentacostalism, and the Unchurched
I just returned from [somewhere] where I was working with a new church start from one of the “confessional” churches … one of those that, by and large, practices a formal liturgy. In this case, the church had relaxed the liturgy a bit, but to those not raised in a smells-and-bells churches, even their relaxed liturgy […]
August 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A Lesson in “Getting It”
My wife is currently the pastor of a small church here in Columbia, Missouri (Oakland Christian). It’s a small church, but putting what she knows about church growth, evangelism, follow-up, and leadership development into action the church has recently begun to show growth – especially with the younger adult crowd. The church’s nursery is in […]
July 26, 2013 by 3 Comments
Get Some Visibility
Bill Easum and I are working on an ebook called The Church Turnaround. In one section, we talk about getting noticed by the community. Far too many churches that have been in existence for any length of time have become invisible to the community. If you’re going to turnaround your church, you’ll have to be […]
July 22, 2013 by 3 Comments
Prayvangelism
I spent the last week at a mainline’s church planter and church transformation training event. I wish I could say I was surprised at how great the training was. I wish. But the fact is, the training was long on the “right” theology and “light” on practicalities … like the importance of evangelism in starting […]
