Is Your Vision Visionary?
Without vision, the people perish. Granted, that’s a bad translation of Proverbs 29:18, but the proverb itself is spot on. The problem is that most church visions teeter on a balance between insipid and impotent. Which is one of the reasons why so many congregations are going through the motions of “doing church” instead of […]
Understanding the Role of Your Pastor
The “golden years” of the church, for many key leaders in churches across the US, were the 1950s. Back then “everyone” went to church – and if someone didn’t go to church, they knew they should! Back then, the pastor didn’t get caught up with trying to reach one generation or another. Everyone “liked” the […]
Packaging Experience
Over the past five years I’ve seen a tremendous shift in my ministry. Ten years ago, the bulk of my ministry consisted of local church consultations and workshops. Occasionally I would be asked to coach a pastor following a consultation. Today, almost half of my ministry is coaching pastors either before, after, or totally absent […]
The Ability to Focus
One of the things I’ve had to do over and over when coaching pastors is remind them to focus on the major issues we’ve talked about instead of getting distracted time and time again. Pastors appear to be extremely vulnerable to distractions due to their high desire to please people. Often pastors have a high […]
Following Jesus into the Mission Field
Those who follow my writing know I believe we are living in a pivotal period of history in which everything that will be is being separated from everything that was. In such a traumatic period, all the rules of the game of life are called into question. Christianity and the Scriptures are the result of […]
Tired of Herding Cats?
You probably hear it as often as I do. “Trying to get them organized is like herding cats.” Whether it’s being applied to the stewardship committee, the congregational council, or the local minister’s alliance, it’s an apt simile whenever you come across a pack of individuals who are more interested in getting what they want […]