6 Steps to Spiritual Conversations That Change Lives
Jesus sent out 70 people to prepare the way for his coming by proclaiming peace to people’s households. Those people were likely Jews who were eager to have a conversation about the possibility of The Messiah. It seems that our context today is very different. How does God send us out? There seem to be […]
Christ-Centered Pastors Don’t Make Disciples or Care for People
That’s right, you read it correctly – Christ-centered pastors don’t make disciples, nor do they take care of people. Instead, they do what Jesus did: they equip others to make disciples and to care for people. These pastors would rather equip ten people to make disciples than to make disciples themselves. Disciple-making and caring for people […]
How to Effectively Lead a Staff
This article is a follow up to the previous article on staff management. Learning how to lead a staff is one of the most important aspects of a pastor’s life if that pastor wants to be an effective leader. Every study shows that the vast majority of churches grow based on their leader and how […]
Management Skills
They didn’t teach me management skills in seminary. I wish they had, because as the leader of a church, I needed them badly and it’s a shame I had to learn them on my own. So I thought I would pass on some pointers. Pointer One: If you can’t measure it, it will not succeed. […]
How to Start Conversations – Even If You Live in New York
When I’m coaching or consulting and make the recommendation that pastors need to spend significant time hanging out wherever it is their targets are hanging out, it tends to raise a host of questions. Where should I hang out? When? What do I need to stop doing so that I have time? All those are […]
Don’t Be so Wordy…
I imagine that it’s no surprise that many (dare I say most) seminary trained pastors – and even business trained pastors – lean toward the verbose and the grandiloquent. In some writings, I suppose, that’s acceptable. However, when it comes to defining a church’s mission, vision, and values, our over-learnedness often gets in the way. In fact, I […]