My wife and I went on our first cruise. It was a well oiled machine. They were prepared for serving meals to 2800 people. “Free” ice cream almost 24/7! A staff member always in sight to make your experience great. A highlight was the towel art on our bed each evening which was in […]
1 Thessalonians 1:6–8
You became imitators of us and of the Lord … And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you … your faith has become known everywhere.
The Thessalonian church had, at least ostensibly, become models of a functional church. They became […]
For the life of me I don’t understand why anyone would try to revitalize a church. But I did and I’m glad I did. Still, when I consider that the vast majority of pastors who try either fail or lose their job, I have to wonder why they would try, or why I tried? […]
My wife and I were just not that “into” jewelry. Had nothing against jewelry. Just not interested. That is, until our Alaskan cruise. Due to masterful “discipleship” from several people, I am now a jewelry “believer.”
I marvel at how intentional and insightful these people are at paving the way for bringing people from no […]
We all know 85% of churches in the West are in decline, so I wont go into that other than to say I know the cause for this decline. The number one problem with Western Christianity rests on its misunderstanding of the Church Growth movement and the liberalization of the Western Church. Let me […]
Evangelistic fervor that reaches out beyond the church and into the culture. That’s the call to every follower of what Paul calls the Way in this extended passage. And yet evangelism is the least practiced of all Christian disciplines, including faithful stewardship. Yes, more people actually tithe than regularly share their faith with Nones, […]
It’s common for church people to resist the “ways of the world” when it impacts how we do church together. At The Effective Church Group, we are always ready for push back when we express practical advice which arises from the reality of how human nature works.
We hear “It’ll never work; or it’s not […]
Recently, I wrote a post about starting a turnaround effort in a small church that’s been in decline for years (Ten Things to Do to Lead a Turnaround). I immediately got requests from church leaders of declining mid-sized and large churches: “What about us? What should we do?”
So, here is a list of things […]
I teach the Pastoral Leadership Course for the Mid-America Center For Ministry. It’s an eight-week online intensive on what it takes to be an effective leader in the church today. One of the things I teach during the course is that a pastor cannot grow the church by staying in their office. There’s always […]
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