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September 19, 2019

What does it mean to preach Christ? (Part One)

Reshared with kind permission from Leaderhip Resource (LRI) LRI’s Kevin Halloran sat down with his pastor, Colin S. Smith, to talk about what it means to preach Christ. Listen to the audio or read the transcript below. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:23, “We preach Christ crucified,” and a few verses later, he said he was determined to “know nothing among the Corinthians except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). But what does this mean? And how can a preacher faithfully preach Christ? Pastor Colin Smith With me is my pastor, Colin Smith, of the Orchard Evangelical […]

September 8, 2019

How to lead in a world of distraction

Clay Scroggins is back on the podcast with some fresh insights from his brand new book, How to Lead in a World of Distraction. In an open and vulnerable interview, Clay talks about how the pressures of leadership led to him missing some of the signs of emotional ill-health, breaking down in his boss’s office, and finding quiet and healing in a noisy world. And if you think this is just theory, Clay is learning all this while leading a church of over 9,000, nurturing his marriage, and parenting five kids under the age of ten. Welcome to Episode 292 of the […]

August 27, 2019

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 […]

August 15, 2019

Leading in Suffering

reshared with kind permission of Leading International. Last month in Nepal, I had dinner with a pastor who spent time in jail for evangelizing. His case is still ongoing and he potentially faces several years in prison. I asked him whether he was nervous about going back to jail. Without hesitating, he simply replied, “No brother, we have already won!” His statement took me by surprise. How can someone view this as a victory? He explained how in jail he was able to share Christ with all the inmates and guards, and I realized that his comment about winning wasn’t […]

August 6, 2019

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 […]

July 27, 2019

Zimbabwean Pastors hunger for God’s Word: GProCommission Update

Pastor Calson’s life changed dramatically after he attended Leadership International’s Biblical Foundation courses in 2000. Now he labors full-time giving others the same blessing he received. “Pastors hunger to learn more about God’s Word,” Pastor Calson says. As Leadership International – Zimbabwe’s national director, he travels through Zimbabwe and surrounding countries teaching pastoral leaders how to interpret the Bible according to what God intends. He has a heart for pastors in rural areas, where congregations might be meeting in a classroom or under a tree and training is especially scarce. Just holding the study Bible they receive with the training […]

July 23, 2019

What does it mean to preach Christ? (Part I)

Reshared with kind permission from Leadership Resource International. LRI’s Kevin Halloran sat down with his pastor, Colin S. Smith, to talk about what it means to preach Christ. Listen to the audio or read the transcript below. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:23, “We preach Christ crucified,” and a few verses later, he said he was determined to “know nothing among the Corinthians except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). But what does this mean? And how can a preacher faithfully preach Christ? Pastor Colin Smith With me is my pastor, Colin Smith, of the Orchard Evangelical […]

July 16, 2019

Building Community in the Church

reshared with kind permission from author Barry Voss. An important and often unrecognized role of the church leader is to build community among those he or she leads. Just as Christ surrounded Himself with his disciples and lived in fellowship with them, we too as leaders must develop a Christian community among our people as well. We need to recognize that God desires that we work together in ministry, with each of us being a part of the Body of Christ. No person can do all of the work of the ministry alone. By developing a community of faithful believers […]

July 11, 2019

3 Ways Attractional Church Needs to Change to Reach the Next Generation Part II

Cont’d. from Part I reshared with kind permission from Carey Nieuwhof. 3. LESS HEAD. MORE HEART. Another key shift that’s happening in churches that are reaching the next generation involves creating experiences that engage the heart, not just the head. The next generation doesn’t just want to know what’s true, they want to feel what true and to experience what’s real. Real is deeper than just an idea—real is an experience. The next generation doesn’t just want to know what’s true, they want to feel what true and to experience what’s real.CLICK TO TWEET When crafting the welcome…don’t just blanket people with information and the […]

July 9, 2019

3 Ways “Attractional” Church Needs to Change to Reach The Next Generation

In an era in which everything is changing so fast, it can be really difficult to discern what’s next. That’s doubly true in church world. While the mission stays the same, the expression or model keeps changing. The dominant model for growing churches over the last two decades is what many people call attractional church. Often (but not always) attractional church takes the form of a little less worship (3-4 songs), hosting that explicitly welcomes unchurched people into the room, running everything through a filter with the guest in mind and often (but not always) includes topical preaching. Over the […]