I hear a lot about “epic fails” these days. Typically, that means something has gone very wrong – and ended up on YouTube or Facebook. The truck was too tall for the underpass and it took out the bridge. The boat sank because it took on sixteen too many passengers. The kid broke his […]
There are many leadership skills that are important. But there are two skills that overshadow all the rest. If a staff can master these two skills, there is no way a church can keep from reaching more people for Christ. Want to know what they are? Sure you do. So here goes.
Skill Number One: […]
Remember when it was all the rage in mainline churches to write and preach about how different it was to try to reach Baby Boomers, then Gen Xers? Now we are faced with the same challenge to reach Millennials. It seems that things never change for mainliners – we are always behind the curve, […]
I’ve been watching the trend escalate for the past decade. For centuries, it has been the practice of non-mainline groups. But for the last couple of decades its has been a rising factor in thriving churches.
I’m talking about the rise and effectiveness of non-seminary trained pastors. It used to be that pastors like enormously […]
Why do people resist church so much? Yes, those who are a part of church need to be concerned with the valid aspects of the critique that religious people are hypocrites and out-of-touch with the intersection of faith and daily life. But there is a significant underlying reason. Our culture believes that most everyone […]
Take an “imaginary” trip with me. The year is 2017, but things are different in some subtle ways. The U.S. military uses horses as its main mode of transportation because horses worked so well during the Civil War. Major companies conduct business through the phone party line because that is what worked for a […]
Ministry in today’s culture is more difficult than perhaps at any other time in history. Sure, we’re in no danger of being fed to the lions, but today’s culture is more resistant to religion … any religion … than ever before. After speaking with pastors and staff, I heard some consistent wishes.
1. I wish […]
Before you get mad, I am an old person. I’m 77, so I’m one of those old people I have a problem with (I Know, preposition in the wrong place. Get over it; it’s not 1950).
But here is my gripe with old people in church – they almost always come to church early and […]
There are two ways to approach a new calling to a declining church. (1) Start slowly, build relationships, get the lay of the land, and then slowly effect changes. Ready, Aim, Fire. Or (2) Assess quickly, make changes, and then make adjustments. Ready, Fire, Aim.
The first method is the most common approach in ministry. […]
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