GalleryAre You An Online Church?
I have a question for you … are you an online church or are you just doing worship online … ?
GalleryWhen Protesting Doesn’t Work
The other day I received a note about the church’s response to the current injustices. The writer shared how he was organizing his church to publicly question police tactics, to be actively involved in legislating change, and to rally in protest. And then he posed what he thought was a politically charged question, thinking […]
Gallery“What, me worry?”
I remember reading an article about Alexander the Great
whose troops looked like they were about to be defeated. His soldiers had taken
so much plunder from their previous campaigns that they had become weighted
down and were losing their effectiveness in combat.
Alexander commanded that all the spoils of war that had been
accumulated be thrown into a […]
GalleryHow to Pray When God Can’t Keep Your Attention
I was recently interviewed by Janelle Dixon about my book Prayer for People Who Can’t Sit Still. This is the article she wrote …
I was not blessed with a quiet mind. It’s a switchboard of
extemporaneous ideas, thoughts, memories and questions that is always on,
always lit up, always busy. Did I plug in the […]
GalleryHope is Not a Strategy
One of the reasons small churches don’t grow is because they depend on “hope” as their core strategy. But hope is not a strategy. Very few church leaders have seriously worked through the strategies and logistics of what it takes to turn Visiting Victor into a disciple of Jesus. Instead, they “hope” he’ll figure […]
GalleryPreaching Sin?
When it comes to preaching about “sin” of any sort, I’ve always been of the opinion we should confront sin in the same manner Jesus did … he only ever confronted the hypocritical religious people. He didn’t tell Zacchaeus or Matthew to stop stealing. He didn’t tell the fishermen to stop swearing. He didn’t […]
GalleryIs Your Church Really a Light On the Hill?
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.Matthew 5:16
This is one of those y’all commands – a command given not to an individual, but to the church, the community, the ekklessia (Greek you=2nd person plural, that is “y’all”).
And […]
GalleryJudge Not? Not!!
“You can’t judge me!” It was a church member who was saying that as the pastor gently explained that their unseemly behavior at the previous board meeting had been unacceptable.
“Judge not” has become the rallying cry for tolerating bullies and terrorists in the church because, well, it just doesn’t seem right to “judge” […]
GalleryThanksgiving Reclaimed
As church leaders there are a few holidays that must be observed faithfully and treated with the utmost respect they deserve. There is Christmas, the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Then there is Easter, the day we recognize Jesus’ resurrection three days after being crucified. These are momentous […]
and then