I’ve lived through a number of seismic shifts the last twenty years. These shifts have changed the way I think and consult and I’m watching how they have affected effective pastors. Those who haven’t assimilated these shifts lead declining churches and those who have assimilated them are leading growing churches. So I want to […]
Jesus sent out 70 people to prepare the way for his coming by proclaiming peace to people’s households. Those people were likely Jews who were eager to have a conversation about the possibility of The Messiah. It seems that our context today is very different. How does God send us out?
There seem to be […]
The first and typically most transformative spiritual habit is, surprisingly, scripture reading. I’m fond of saying “I’m a scientist’s son and a mainliner at heart,” so when I tell church leaders that if they’ll just start reading scripture regularly their lives will be transformed, they sometimes look at me as if I was from […]
“What I really need is more nuts and bolts on how to do disciple making. Obviously, what we’re doing isn’t working.” The pastor was exasperated because he had a church full of members instead of a church full of disciples.
At the Radical Disciple Making Conference, we speak about the need to create “processes” in […]
Over the past couple of years, we’ve been telling church leaders that getting into the mass media advertising game is, by and large, a colossal waste of money – unless your church can afford to spend upwards of $25,000 per campaign (per event you are advertising). Some of the reasons for this are pretty obvious, […]
Recently, I began interviewing folks who were first-time visitors to churches to listen to what they experienced and see what we can learn.
A couple weeks ago, I met with a couple who’d attended an Evangelical Free Church near them. Let me begin by saying that they had a pleasant experience and have considered returning […]
Bring good news of great Joy to new people…then bring them back!
With Christmas Eve fast approaching, it’s not too late to prepare for what historically is the service with the highest number of visitors all year. Many of these folks who attend will have limited or no church experience. Indeed, the “Nones” (people with […]
Perhaps you’ve noticed, people aren’t clamoring to go to church these days. On any given weekend, about 15% of Americans worship as Christians. But do not despair, your church music ministry can be a great resource for contemporary evangelism.
At The Effective Church Group, we feel keenly that pastors of churches under 500 at worship […]
I was speaking with a pastor in Iowa the other day and shared that I’d just completed forty years in parish ministry. He offered some generous congratulatory sentiments and thanked me for my service. But then he paused and asked me a really great question: “What has God been showing you during that time?”
I […]
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery