224 results found for: church

summer

2 Questions that Lead to Health

reshared with kind permission from Breeze Church.  I don’t know about you, but where I live it has been HOT. I’m wondering how your summer is going? For church leaders, summer is often a change of pace. Many of us take time off. Others of us shut down our regular ministry programming and do something different and perhaps less involved. Summer is often a good time to take stock, evaluate and think strategically. So, here’s the question: How healthy will you be next summer? A year from now will you be closer to Jesus, have better boundaries, have more margin…or […]

delegate

Delegation & Accountability

In order to be an effective leader, one must learn to properly delegate responsibilities and hold others accountable to their commitments.  Since we cannot do all of the ministry by ourselves, especially as our ministry grows, we will need to delegate some of our responsibilities to others if we are to get the work done that the Lord requires of us.  Learning how to delegate effectively and then hold others accountable will produce action and not excuses. Delegation “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.  We will turn this […]

sermon

5 Ways to Preach a Half Done Sermon

Whenever I meet with a pastor or church planter, I ask them, “What are you preaching on this Sunday?” I love hearing what series other guys are doing, the creativity. Recently whenever I ask this question, I get blank stares or a response of “I’m not sure, I think I have a title.” Sometimes they aren’t even that far along. Too many pastors allow the busyness of their lives and ministries to crowd out their sermon prep. Here are 5 ways to make sure that you are killing yourself on Saturday night to put a sermon together. Is your sermon […]

succession

The Emotions of Pastoral Succession

resharing with kind permission from Carey Niewholf Succession has emerged as one of the major issues facing the church in the next decade. Businesses are not that far behind in struggling with succession. Most senior pastors (especially founding pastors) hang on too long. The question is why. In a candid and disarmingly honest interview, Amplify Founding Pastor, Lee Kricher, and his successor, Jason Howard, talk about how they paved the way not just for the next generation of leader, but for the next generation of church, allowing the model to change while the leadership changed. In the midst of it, […]

wife

Navigating the Life of a Pastor’s Wife

The life of a pastor’s wife (PW) has, for the longest time, been popularly known as a life of self-sacrifice, of discouragement, disillusionment and hurt. With Pastors’ Wives conferences or retreat themes like “From Bitter to Better,” “Embracing My Role as a Pastor’s Wife,” “Enjoying the Ride,” “Overcoming,” “Responding to Trials,” etc, it would thus seem that for most of her life, she is in an embattled situation, facing problems and difficulties on a regular basis with members of the church, other women and even with herself – situations that make it difficult for her to enjoy her life and […]

trend

5 Preaching Trends That Will Shape the Future (PART 1)

In a culture where everything’s changing, so is preaching. Sure…the message never changes, but the method has to if you want to be effective. What worked in preaching a decade ago is less effective today, not because the scripture or Gospel has changed, but because the culture has. The fact that 70-80% of all churches are plateaued or declining and the rash of deconversions we’re seeing are evidence that in many cases, what used to be effective isn’t anymore. This is a post I wrote with Mark Clark, Lead Pastor of Village Church, a church that reaches over 5000 people each weekend […]

future

5 Preaching Trends That Will Shape the Future

Continued from PART 1 here.  4. PREACHING TO THE HEART/AFFECTIONS (MARK) One of Jonathan Edwards’ great fears during the awakening that happened around his preaching was that the conversions of thousands of people to Christ weren’t real. That they were surface level, even counterfeit. His desire was that the gospel would change someone from the inside-out vs. the outside-in (through Religious Guilt or Cognitive Teaching, etc.,). He knew what Augustine said was true: that we are what we love, that the most powerful part about us wasn’t our thinking, but our feeling, our gut, and that true and effective preaching […]

right

How to Speak the Right Words at the Right Time In Your Ministry

Strategy matters. Vision is critical. Structures and systems are vital. These are all important aspects of organizational leadership. But, they are trumped by what leaders actually say. Words matter. Lately I’ve been studying the book of Proverbs and thinking about the impact of words on our lives and organizations. I’m realizing that there have been turning points in my life that are a direct result of something someone said to me. When I was in 9th grade, my youth pastor told me, “You are a leader.” When I was in 11th grade, my English teacher told me, “You are a […]