The vast majority of dying churches I know get their priorities mixed up. Every church has a primary priority and secondary priorities. The primary priority of any church should be effectively growing the Kingdom, and it can’t be doing that if it totally dies. Secondary priorities can be any kind of mission they choose. […]
I just finished reading the Call to Action by the Bishops of the United Methodist Church. It’s good stuff. In fact, it’s great stuff – to a point. The five aspects of a vital church it proposes are right on target. Look at what it says.
“Vital congregations are Spirit-filled, forward-leaning communities of believers that welcome […]
Recently, while I was teaching a class on pastoral leadership, a student pushed back hard when I shared that membership care, hospital visitation, and most church administration are not primarily the functions of clergy – that the church members should be responsible for those kinds of ministries.
“I got into ministry to do ministry,” […]
I am coaching a guy who is doing his best to turn around an established church. We all know that turning a church around is one of the most difficult tasks on the planet, and it requires more skill than just about anything I know of.
While we were talking, he shared with me six […]
What are the costs of transforming a church? They can be steep … very steep. I got word this week of a church that engaged a pastor to help them grow and transform has essentially imploded … no, it’s really an explosion that may be responsible for killing a career and perhaps tainting the […]
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996) 267 pages (with notes)
This book is written for those who want to discover and develop vision for the future by focusing on the “edge” identified as “fringe competitors, lost customers, and rogue employees.” With an introduction and endorsement by Joel Barker (“paradigm” buster and pioneer), this […]
In the introduction of 21st Century Strategies for Church Growth, my primary purpose is helping a pastor decide whether or not they can handle the heat in the kitchen of church growth. The following excerpt challenges each reader to question themselves about why they’re in ministry in the first place. It comes across as […]
I believe that one’s preaching should always be evolving and adapting to the needs expressed through our culture. We live in a time when the culture says our preaching is irrelevant. That can’t be allowed to continue.
What is the image of the preaching in your church? Is it a lecture? Do people feel “preached […]
“That won’t happen again, will it?”
There shouldn’t be question mark at the end of that question, because it’s not really a question. It’s a statement that should actually end with a period. In fact, it’s a statement that says much, much more than just those six little words.
I first heard those words from a pastor […]
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