When you’re high and walk into my church looking for money for that next fix, the answer is “no.” That one is easy. The potheads tend to receive it better than the meth addicts. But that’s for another blog. Saying “no” to your own members who have ministry ideas is much harder. Answering in the negative is part of leadership in any organization. Leaders keep vision focused. Leaders protect an organization from good things that could become distractions to the greater goal. It’s tough Read more [...]
A big wave is coming towards the church. It’s the swell of retiring Boomer pastors. Most Boomer pastors are currently between the ages of 50 and 68. They won’t all retire at once, so this wave won’t crash into the church like a tsunami. However, I don’t believe the North American church is prepared to replace these pastors. My father gives a few implications of retiring Boomer pastors over at his blog: There will be more pastoral vacancies than qualified candidates. Few churches are Read more [...]
Today’s post was written by Ben Reed. His new book, Starting Small, is a great resource for anyone wanting to know more about small groups. Check out his blog as well. When you think about starting small groups, you may think that groups are for church plants. Or for new churches. Or for churches that aren’t established. Or for churches that don’t have Sunday school. And if that’s what you think, you’d be among a growing number of people that tend to put small groups and Sunday school Read more [...]
The term “revitalize” has several implications, especially when applied to the church. The prefix implies a revitalized church is one that went through a cycle: vital, not vital, and vital again. This cycle demonstrates that the church had a period of stagnation or decline. It also means the church changed, if not to a great degree. This change means the church made a decision (most likely intentional) to get unstuck. What if an established church is stuck now? What will help with future revitalization? Read more [...]
Hand-written notes are rare. Electronic communication has all but erased the whimsy of cursive writing. The average adult writes something by hand about every 41 days, much less a hand-written note snail-mailed to a friend. The average home receives a personal letter in the mail every seven weeks. A few luddites still exist because you can purchase disposable fountain pens on Amazon, but you can also buy a UFO detector there. I doubt either product is a mainstream bestseller. In our wired world, Read more [...]
Few established churches turn on a dime. Some don’t turn at all. One of the contributing causes is inflexibility. Leading an organization full of inflexible people is like trying to run a marathon without bending your knees. It’s anything but smooth. Every church has some inflexible people. Part of being a pastor is helping people get unstuck and unfrozen. And most churches also have plenty of people ready to move. Part of being a pastor is encouraging them to lead by example. Working this Read more [...]
I’m excited to announce that my latest book is now available on Amazon. Obstacles in the Established Church is about how established churches in North America are struggling. But the obituaries are premature. I believe struggling churches can make a difference again. Many churches have obstacles in front of them slowing growth and preventing health. While every church is a unique congregation in a specific local context, patterns present in one established church are often present Read more [...]
Today’s post was written by Rob Tims. His new book, Southern Fried Faith, is a great resource for established church leaders in the south. Check out his blog as well. "I don't know how you put up with it!" This was the statement of a 20-something church planter in the upstate of South Carolina upon hearing about the many challenges pastors face in established churches. "I don't know how you feed your family," I responded. He had a stay-at-home wife, four kids, a dilapidated truck, Read more [...]
Most of us have entered the twilight zone of worship announcements at some point. A person approaches the pulpit with the same gait as one walking the plank. A piece of paper unfolds, multiple times. The throat clears… loudly. What follows is usually awkward, many times painful, and sometimes memorable in all the wrong ways. In one of my churches I had to kill the death announcements. Historically, the church began worship services by announcing all member-related deaths. Nothing screams “Let’s Read more [...]
This column originally appeared in a local magazine in the region where I pastor. At times, I’ll post the column on this blog. Family night began without incident. My 18-month old and almost four year-old were smiling and laughing. We splurged on ice cream at Chick-fil-a. It was a good evening with the family. We decided to go bowling. It was a first for our family. You would think that eight-pound balls and small children would not be a good mix. But the hilarity of watching my daughters Read more [...]
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