Setting Priorities: Your Values Drive Behaviors
Pastor: Did you know that your calendar and your spending habits reveal more about your values than your sermons ever could? Why It Matters: Mission drives beliefs, beliefs drive values, and values drive behaviors. This sequence isn’t just some abstract theory; it’s the reality that determines everything you do as a pastor. But here’s the […]
Your Church Numbers Count
I had a conversation recently with a small group of mainline pastors and the conversation naturally turned to church transformation and church growth. When I asked how they measured whether their churches were growing, plateauing, or declining I started getting the typical excuses and defensive posturing I so often hear. “Numbers aren’t important.”“Numbers don’t really […]
Building the Disciple-Driven Church
Introduction It seems that in most churches today, the leaders are drowning in tasks and responsibilities. This gets in the way of building a Disciple-Driven Church. For instance, The stewardship chair is preoccupied with budgets, the board chair is overwhelmed with meetings and agendas, and Sunday school teachers are fixated on their next lesson plan. […]
Four Key Strategies That Will Grow Your Church
Growing a church isn’t about finding a magic bullet or the latest trendy program. It’s about focusing on what truly matters. After decades of working with churches across the nation, I’ve found that sustainable church growth boils down to four core processes: Invite, Connect, Disciple, and Send. Bill Easum and I wrote about these in […]
Why Leadership, Not Calling, Determines Ministry Success
Once upon a time, I was a young, optimistic student pastor appointed to a small Methodist church in Hinson’s Crossroads, Florida. The church, nestled at the end of a paved road that gave way to a winding red clay path, had just 38 members. Despite being told that growth was unlikely, I rolled up my […]
If You Have a Blurry Vision, You Have a Bleak Future
You’ve heard me say it before. If you’ve got to herd cats, you’ll need a bigger mouse. Your church cats will chase the biggest mouse in the room, and if your Big Mouse Vision is smaller than someone else’s, you’ll lose their attention every time. The wise and successful pastor stays on his/her knees until […]