Setting SMART Goals

Over the years, I’ve come to understand that when we talk about making plans in the church, we may not be speaking the same language. What I call mission may or may not be what you call mission. And the same goes for vision, strategies, tactics, and goals. the definitions for these terms are […]

Why Don’t People Invite Their Friends?

In these COVID times (and honestly, pre-COVID times), it’s become very clear that church members aren’t inviting their friends (or anyone else) to join them for worship. A recent poll by the Barna Group revealed that 60 percent of people will not invite people to attend worship with them online (or Share or Like […]

Seminary and Ordination are Keeping U.S. Christianity from Thriving

Recently I’m running into a lot of writers who are asking the question “If we all serve the same God, why is Christianity growing all over the world except Europe and the U.S.?” I find that am important question. The problem is most of the answers I’m seeing deal with fringe issues and don’t […]

Killers that Stunt Your Personal and Organizational Growth

Turn around or growth are usually the result of some action taken by the leadership.

Usually its not the little changes that kill a church, but the big changes that go untried.  Either leadership is afraid of these BIG changes or they can’t even imagine them.  Either way, nothing is deadlier than ignoring the BIG […]

The Church is Not a Service Organization

Not long ago our organization received a response from a pastor to one of our posts that showed one of the major misconceptions about Christianity.  Here is the quote “If I must go somewhere else to have those needs met I will. Like any other service organization care for the caregiver is critical.” 

The […]

The Six Most Common Mistakes Pastors Make and What to do About Them

Over the years I’ve seen pastors make the same mistakes over and over. Every time I see these mistakes I can almost bet their church is declining. So I thought I would share with you the six most common mistakes I see pastors doing and what to do about it.

Mistake Number One: Not making […]

The Basic Law of Congregational Life

Over the past twenty-five years I’ve worked with almost seven hundred churches of all sizes and locations. Most in the U.S. but some in Canada, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, and Ghana. And one overarching truth has emerged from my experiences in these churches – I call this truth  The Basic Law of Congregational Life. […]

Christmas Eve on Sunday

Christmas Eve, the most important time of the year to reach the unchurched (yes, it’s more important than Easter these days), is fast approaching and far too many pastors will be enticed by their church leaders to make one of the most fatal mistakes possible. And this year that enticement will be even more […]

The Number One Problem with Western Christianity: McGavran and Disciple Making

We all know 85% of churches in the West are in decline, so I wont go into that other than to say I know the cause for this decline. The number one problem with Western Christianity rests on its misunderstanding of the Church Growth movement and the liberalization of the Western Church. Let me […]