Getting Your Building and Grounds Ready for Easter.
With Easter coming, most churches anticipate their largest services of the year. Are your building and grounds ready for double your average attendance? Here are a couple of things to turn your attention to in preparation. Is your parking lot in good shape? Usually 10 percent of your spaces should be clearly designated for guests […]
Funeral of Billy Graham: And Why Churches are Dying
Just finished watching the funeral of Billy Graham. It was a simple yet glorious send off that focused on Jesus not Billy. And it reminded me of why so many of our churches are dying. Franklin Graham gave the closing eulogy. Over and over he issued an invitation for people to accept Jesus as their […]
From Horses to the Moon: Something to Think About
I want you to think about the title to this blog post and ask yourself, “What has this to do with religion?” Here are my thoughts. In less than 100 years the U.S. has gone from riding on horses to putting a man on the moon. That’s incredible progress; it’s also a demonstration of how […]
The Basic Law of Congregational Life
Over the past twenty-five years I’ve worked with almost seven hundred churches of all sizes and locations. Most in the U.S. but some in Canada, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, and Ghana. And one overarching truth has emerged from my experiences in these churches – I call this truth The Basic Law of Congregational Life. It […]
Is Christmas Becoming Like Easter?
It’s an exciting time to be a pastor. It’s equally exciting to be a consultant. You have to stay on your toes. These times are changing from moment to moment. For some time, the Effective Church Group has referenced Easter as Alumni Sunday, meaning that it’s a time when members who rarely attend worship may […]
Getting Ready for Sunday
As the pastor, the reminder “Sunday’s coming” may bring feelings of elation or dread. To be fair, most pastors live week-to-week and much of their waking time is spent with an eye toward worship. It might be an overstatement to say we’re obsessed by the weekend, but for most of us, it’s not much of […]