I was sitting in church the other day listening to a sermon. The sermon was fine. But there was something the preacher said (unrelated to the point of his sermon) that got me thinking. I forget the preacher’s exact words but he talked about getting a thumbs up from […]
Would God Give a Thumbs Up to Our Facebook Pages? Read More
“It broke my heart. Another church closed. This church had unbelievable potential. Indeed, it had its own “glory days,” but only for a season. But, 10 years ago, few would have predicted this church’s closure. Today, it is but another statistic in the ecclesiastical graveyard. I know. We don’t compromise
Urgent Church: Nine Changes We Must Make or Die Read More
Check out Karl Vaters’ “4 Reasons Our Church Stopped Doing ‘Come and Watch’ Events (And 5 Alternatives)” with still more advice for pastors and leaders as you think about fall planning.
4 Reasons Our Church Stopped Doing ‘Come and Watch’ Events (And 5 Alternatives) Read More
When you do a good amount of Church Health or Church Revitalization reading, you will start to see some common themes emerge. I can almost guarantee you that you will read about prayer, discipleship, outward orientation, mission and vision. Those topics come up over and over again. And they need
The Stuff That Doesn’t Get Mentioned Read More
“I always kind of thought discipleship was a little awkward. The idea that someone tells me what to do because they know more than I didn’t sound like fun. Clearly, I didn’t understand true discipleship; I didn’t know discipleship was about loving like Jesus. It wasn’t until I understood that
5 Discipleship Don’ts Read More
“It’s possible that you’re asking too much from your congregation. This often backfires and results in an even lower participation level. You may need to ask your congregation for less. If you ask for less, you are more likely to get a greater response. It is necessary to cast big
Your Congregation May Experience “Request Fatigue.” Read More
“The reality is that smaller churches can thrive, too. More than 65 percent of the churches that participated in the research survey for Comeback Churches–the book I co-wrote with Mike Dodson– had under 200 regular attendees. Smaller churches are not always unhealthy churches; it depends largely on their mindset. In
The Thriving Smaller Church Read More
As Director of Church Health, part of role is to walk churches through tools like the LifePlan or orient search teams to the transition process or show up to unpack the Church Health survey with boards and leaders. And as I do this I need to stop and remember that
Slow Down and Listen Read More
“The Lego Company began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, who began making wooden toys in 1932. In 1934, his company came to be called “Lego.” The word Lego comes from a Danish phrase which means “play well.” In 1947, Lego expanded and began
4 Huge Lessons Children’s Ministry Can Learn From the Lego Company Read More
A little while back, I wrote about some experiences with generosity. Since then generosity has been on my mind and I have some more recent experiences to share. I made an elderly couple cry. Keep reading! I’m not the jerk it sounds like I am. I was in Tim
Random Acts of Kindness Are Not the Whole Picture Read More
