Hero of Faith
I’ve always been a movie buff and I am a big fan of those Steven Spielberg directed, Indiana Jones movies. My favorite one is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In it the Harrison Ford character is in pursuit of the Holy Grail, the cup Jesus used at the Last Supper. Near the end of […]
Enlarge My Territory
I have a plaque on the wall of my office that I look at often. On it are two verses most people breeze right past in one of the least-read books of the Bible. “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’ […]
Three Key Characteristics of Effective Leaders
One of the greatest needs in the church today is effective leadership and I want to share three characteristics of effective leaders that I’ve found formational in my own life. What qualifies me to write on this subject? Fifty plus years of leadership learning and experience (My nickname in high school was “The General” when […]
What’s That Mean?
WARNING: This isn’t one of our church growth posts. Instead, I’m taking a moment to share what I believe is an important pastoral care/theology kind of question. Read on with that warning 🙂 I teach preaching for the Center for Ministry and Lay Training at Phillips Seminary and one of those Pastoral Care kind of […]
Preach Patriotism
On July 4th 2022, the United States of America will be 246 years old. In relationship with many other countries like Egypt, China, or Greece, America the republic, this experiment in liberty, is very young and yet we stand tall among the nations of the world. We continue to stand because of the principles on […]
Get Un-Stuck
When I was growing a healthy effective church, I would often seek out advice from other successful churches to see what they were doing to grow. One of those churches was North Coast Church in Vista California, a suburb of San Diego. The senior pastor is Larry Osborne, and he has positively influenced me and […]