Changing Lanes
Change is a not only inevitable but, in most cases, necessary and ultimately good for us. Did you know the first automobiles built in the early 1900s didn’t have rear-view mirrors? Now on every windshield hangs what we have come to think of as an indispensable devise that we wouldn’t dream of driving without. The […]
Turning Members into Ministers
At my final worship service from the church I planted, pastored and grew for over twenty years, two of the staff members I had discipled since they started attending, walked on to the platform each carrying a five foot tall, three feet wide cardboard poster of my head. From behind these giant facial facades, they […]
Why Churches Don’t Change
When a young man came to Jesus seeking eternal life, he was told what he needed to do to change. Remember how he reacted? He walked away sad. Jesus then responded to the crowd that had gathered, “And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of […]
Three Things I’ve Learned
I was speaking with a pastor in Iowa the other day and shared that I’d just completed forty years in parish ministry. He offered some generous congratulatory sentiments and thanked me for my service. But then he paused and asked me a really great question: “What has God been showing you during that time?” I […]
Don’t be like Larry
Of all the commercials that aired on the last Super Bowl broadcast, one stood out to me. Larry David, the famously crotchety actor known for Curb Your Enthusiasm and his creative partnership with Jerry on “Seinfeld”, plays his cynicism for laughs by mocking humanity’s great innovations. The wheel, he declares, is “a miss.” He informs […]
It’s Not About the Better Burger
At about the time I started my first church, I read a book targeted for the business world entitled, The E Myth by Michael Gerber. In it, the author states that 85% of new businesses fail in their first year and then over 80 percent of those that survived the first year will close their […]