October 18, 2018
drive

Four Things That Shouldn’t Drive Church Growth

Article shared with permission from Carey Nieuwhof. Something’s driving your church.  There are a variety of things that drive a church…the challenge for many church leaders is no one is really quite clear on what that is. What drives your church is critical because it impacts everything you do. Ultimately, it directly impacts both your health and your growth as a congregation. As I talk to leaders of churches of all sizes, I find different factors at work. As much as we’d all love to say Jesus runs the church, the reality is that church is a partnership. God seems to delight […]
September 18, 2018
hunger

Encouraging a Hunger for God

Shared with kind permission from author Barry Voss “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6 There is an old saying that “you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink.” It means that if a horse is not thirsty he likely will not drink, even if you place some water before him.  The same can be said of our relationship to God.  We can be led to God, but unless we desire Him we will have no interest. So it is important for us to develop a hunger for […]
July 24, 2017
conflict

The Healthy Approach to Resolving Church Conflict

The Table podcast: In this episode, Dr. Darrell Bock and Eric Willis discuss a healthy approach to resolving church conflict. Listen via this link  The Table is a weekly podcast from the Hendricks Center. These podcasts treat key topics related to God, religion, Christianity, faith, work, and Culture. They show the relevance of theology to all areas of life. They will be hosted primarily by Dr. Darrell Bock, Executive Director for Cultural Engagement at the Center.  His guests bring significant experience to the topics they cover.
July 19, 2017
A Few Good Men, father

A Few Good Men: Before you are a pastor, you are a father

Many countries recently celebrated Father’s Day this past June 18th. Fathers from all walks of life were thanked, honored and celebrated for the important role they have in the family – that of being a Dad. The role of the father is very crucial, whether we care to admit it or not. We cannot reiterate enough how important he is to the home and to the children. This role is so crucial that many of society’s problems can be traced back to a dysfunctional family that is, almost always, perpetuated by fatherlessness. The fatherlessness problem is wrecking havoc in the […]
June 29, 2017
non bitter and jaded pastor

Bitter Much? How Church Workers Can Resist Becoming Bitter and Jaded

Read more via the Breeze Church ChMS blog By Aaron Buer Can we be real? There’s something I’ve noticed in church world, and I bet you have too.There are a lot of pastors and church workers out there who are jaded and even bitter.Maybe it has to do with constantly carrying people’s problems. Perhaps it happens when we experience the inner workings of the church and they aren’t as “holy” as we were hoping. Maybe it’s because churches can’t always provide the salary and benefits that other companies can.The truth is that there are a bazillion reasons church workers and pastors grow jaded […]
June 20, 2017
tape management

Managing Your Life: Balancing Priorities

by Barry Voss Usually as pastors or church leaders we spend most our time trying to manage the people and resources of our ministry. We constantly think about how to lead others, train others, or develop them into leaders as well. Consequently, we often forget to manage the one person who also needs help – ourselves! God has given each of us one life to live.  How we live that life is a measure of our love for God and what He has done for us through Jesus Christ.  There is so much that God wants to do in and […]
May 18, 2017

How To Overcome Inevitable Resistance to Change

by Chuck Gianotti “We never did it that way before!” You have sought the Lord’s guidance and are now leading His people in a new direction of ministry. But, there is resistance to change. Certainly, change can be misguided—like trying out the latest fad to sweep the Christian world. And change is clearly wrong if it involves compromising biblical principles or doctrine. But, the Lord can also inspire change in ministry methods. The visionary elder or church leader longs to adopt Paul’s creative attitude in 1 Corinthians 9:23, “I have become all things to all men so that by all […]