New Wine Part 4

When Jesus was talking about not pouring new wine into old wine skins he was communicating the fragile nature of change. Change is difficult, especially in churches so, we need to develop a purposeful process for change. Here is a five-step process you can use to implement real and lasting change in your church.

Step 1: […]

New Wine Skins Part 3

Jesus says you can’t put new wine in old wine skins because old wine skins become brittle and lose their functionality. He is communicating to us today that we must create new wine skins to house the vibrancy of new wine. This is a principle of life in which new situations most always require […]

New Wine Skins-Part 2

In the ancient world there were no glass or plastic bottles, instead people would put liquids into animal skins that were sewn together and used like canteens. Eventually these skins would become brittle, and rupture, spilling out the liquid.Jesus referred to these wineskins when teaching his early followers and us about change.

And no one […]

New Wineskins-Part 1

The Wall Street Journal reports that one of the key reasons for the continued growth of McDonalds restaurants is their continually embracing of change. What began as the original fast food provider of burgers, fries and a soft drink or shake, now daily serves pancakes, eggs and bacon or sausage for those who want […]

Laying Eggs

Every year, I make plans for growing the church. Valentine’s Day banquet. Big Easter launch. Spring Marriage Enrichment event. Summer Day Camp. Four Business as Ministry seminars and cohort groups. Back to School kickoff. City-wide Trunk-or-Treat in our parking lot. And so on. 

And every year, at least three-fourths of all those planned events fail […]

Quick and Easy Mission Planning

By Guest Blogger: Jason Lewis from StrongWell.org

Mission trips are an amazing opportunity for people young and old to travel and help people through the light of the Lord. They give you a broader perspective of the world and shake up your humdrum routine. Mission trips teach people about the importance of giving to those […]

Seek Wisdom

In my last two posts I have written about leadership within the government and the church which are both experiencing difficult challenges. I can’t remember a time in our nation’s history when there has been more talk about the failures of leadership within an administration or for that matter inside the church. As leaders […]

Confession of Two Mainline Church Geeks

We’ve Got a Confession to Make.
We’ve been mainline Christians most of our lives.
We choose the mainline because of its theology.
But over time the mainline Church has fallen into a free fall decline.
And that pains us.
We hate to see once great institutions dying. So we’re not going to just sit back and watch it […]

Now More Than Ever

 

I can’t remember a time in our nation’s history when there has been more talk about the leadership of our government. As leaders within the church we must use some criteria in which to model our leadership style. I always look first to what the Bible has to say and then try to take to […]