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 […]

Faith in a World Gone Mad

I think we would all agree that the world has gone mad. We may not agree on what’s causing this madness or what to do about it, but if you follow the news it’s impossible to get around this fact – the world has gone mad. From politics to the national debt, to the […]

Three Hard Choices Effective Leaders Make

Effective church leadership is the most glamourless, thankless, and frustrating job on the planet.

I make that emphatic statement based on two observations. First, I’m unaware of any other sector, profit or non-profit, that is seeing 85 percent of all operation centers facing serious decline – and the leaders of course are shouldered with the […]

Is it Time to Drop the Requirement: Part Two

My post, titled “Is It Time To Drop The Requirement,” resulted in several responses, which prompted me to do a little more digging into the subject of ordination. And after extensive reading on the subject I conclude there is absolutely no mention of ordination in the New Testament. By the second part of the […]

What Will It Take For Mainline Denominations To Grow Again?

Nobody will argue that mainline denominations are in decline. It doesn’t matter if the decline is 80 percent or 65 percent as suggested by a recent Barna study, mainline denominations are seeing fewer and fewer people in the pews. This decline begs a question – “What will it take to turn this decline around?”

Like […]

Two Skills Every Pastor and Staff Must Master

There are many leadership skills that are important. But there are two skills that overshadow all the rest. If a staff can master these two skills, there is no way a church can keep from reaching more people for Christ. Want to know what they are? Sure you do. So here goes.

Skill Number One: […]

Mostly For United Methodist Eyes – Bloom Where You’re Planted

Take an “imaginary” trip with me. The year is 2017, but things are different in some subtle ways. The U.S. military uses horses as its main mode of transportation because horses worked so well during the Civil War. Major companies conduct business through the phone party line because that is what worked for a […]

My Problem with Old People Even Though I Are One

Before you get mad, I am an old person. I’m 77, so I’m one of those old people I have a problem with (I Know, preposition in the wrong place. Get over it; it’s not 1950).

But here is my gripe with old people in church – they almost always come to church early and […]