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The Greatest Tragedy in History

If you were asked what you considered to be the greatest tragedy in history, what would you say? Surely some would pick the Holocaust. Others in the U.S. might pick 9/11. Still others would settle on Hurricane Katrina. There might be a few who would reach back in history and choose the Great Plague that […]

Stop Suffering From Mega Church Envy

We live in a time when the nature of church is changing dramatically.  There are a few very large congregations, but most churches are quite small.  Do I have to be a mega church pastor to be “successful?” What does it mean to be church in our time?  Let’s be honest.  How do we feel […]

The Top Staff Positions for Churches Reaching Young Adults

A client recently posed a staffing question and asked me to address it. “Why should the first hired staff positions be (1) a worship leader for a non-traditional style worship service; and (2) a children’s director?” The answer is as simple as it should be self-evident. Without a steady influx of young families to the […]

Does Jesus Believe in Church Growth?

The term “church growth” means all sorts of things to different people.  Some see no problem whatsoever.  Others find it to be controversial. The question that defines it for me is?  Do your pews or seats look like this image on a Sunday morning? Somewhere between 15 and 20% of Americans will worship as Christians […]

Four Things that Keep People Out of Your Church

I suspect no church intentionally goes about barring their doors to keep new people out, but given the poor first-time visitor numbers in most churches, it sometimes seems like that might be the case. A healthy, growing church should be seeing enough first-time visitors each week that they make up 3 percent or more of […]

Holding a Congregation Accountable

I recently received a note with a question that I’m sure most pastors have asked themselves at one time or another. I’m afraid there are many answers to this question. And just like there are many answers to the why question, there are several answers to the unasked question, “How do we hold a congregation […]