All Good Things Must Come to an End

Many of you know that for the past two decades I have been obsessed with offshore billfishing. It’s impossible to give justice to a description of the feeling one gets when a 400-pound blue marlin is coming toward your bait. You see the fin, then the bill, then the crash as the Blue attacks […]

Cordeiro, The Irresistible Church

What caused you to write The Irresistible Church? What was the need?

People in America have been polled as being spiritual but not religious. This tells me that they are interested in God but not necessarily the church. The church was always designed to be the resplendence of God, a preview of heaven. However, the church is […]

Don’t Make These Five Leadership Selection Gaffs

The pastor was sharing his frustration about one of his executive team members during a recent consultation. “No matter what I do, Cyndi finds a problem with pretty much anything I suggest. She either tries to fix what’s not broken or she sabotages the idea completely. I wish I’d never invited her onto the team, but now […]

Shared Congregational Leadership Doesn’t Work

Recently, I received an email from a member of our Advanced Leadership forum asking an excellent question that many pastors ask. Here it is.

“I just received George Barna’s latest e-news where he has an article ’30 Respected Leaders Weigh in on What It Takes to be a Master Leader.’ I want to shift the focus from […]

Three Things I’ve Learned

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 […]

WWJND? What Would Jesus Not Do? (Part 2)

The Apostle John warned us about the dangers of, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, three issues as church leaders we are all tempted with, but transgressions that Jesus would never do.

These three temptations, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, […]

When Protesting Doesn’t Work

The other day I received a note about the church’s response to the current injustices. The writer shared how he was organizing his church to publicly question police tactics, to be actively involved in legislating change, and to rally in protest. And then he posed what he thought was a politically charged question, thinking […]

Superhero Worship

Last weekend I took one of my grandsons to the movies to see the latest block-buster hit Avengers: Infinity Wars. I am told it had the biggest opening of any movie ever and that it is approaching two billion dollars in ticket sales. The movie features seemingly every one of the Marvel Comic book […]

The Second Core Spiritual Habit: Listening Prayer

Those who read my previous post may have been surprised that I suggested scripture reading may be the most transformative spiritual habit. I’m sure there are those who would argue that prayer offers more opportunities for the Spirit’s injection into our lives. However, so long as the average prayer is a monologue, it’s unlikely […]