Resources
Sometime between now and 34 more page views, Confessions of a Small-Church Pastor will pass the 10,000 page view milestone! Break out the funny hats and noisemakers, cause we're celebrating! In only three short months, our little chats have become "a gathering place for the small
Journey
Ever wonder why God put you in a small church when your old seminary pals are at First Big Church? And when you see them at a convention or seminar, they ask you, "How's the church going?" in their sympathetic, funeral-home voice, like someone just died.
Congregation
"Jesus did not say, 'I will speak true worlds to you' or 'I will tell you about the truth;' he claimed to embody truth in his person. To those who wished to know the truth, Jesus did not offer propositions to be tested by logic
Community
Small churches usually don't have an advertising budget, or if they do it's too small to be effective. But, relax my small-church friend because you don't need an ad budget. Here's why: 1. Trendwatching.com says that only 13% of consumers admit
Uncategorized
I'm going to do a post featuring everyone who has commented on this blog, with links to their sites/blogs. If you just have an email link, I won't post that, but if you have a site or blog I'll mention you, unless you
Journey
Have you heard the saying, “Christianity is one generation away from extinction”? My business travels took me to China frequently in the ’90s, mostly to Hong Kong and Shanghai. I opened an office in Shanghai, and hired a Shanghai-born Chinese man as my manager. I’ll call him Mr. Li,
Congregation
Do you remember Ray Stedman's book, Body Life? Ray was pastor of Palo Alto Bible Church in California, and I credit Ray with kicking off the conversation about gifts-based ministry. Then the church growth people at Fuller Seminary and Fuller Evangelistic Association picked it up. Peter Wagner and
Journey
Written in my journal on February 3, 2007, in Pasadena, California while sitting in the sunshine on the plaza of Paseo de Colorado -- Grace is indeed God's gift. A moment of clarity, a vision of that which has been before our eyes all the time. Grace is
Congregation
Because the small-church is, well.....small, our volunteers tend to get overextended. So, for our helpful hint today, I present 5 Signs of Burn-out in Your Volunteers: 1. They drop dead. This is a sure sign of overload when your members actually expire, pass-on, cross-over, or catch the Ezekiel express.
Community
I am proposing a new model for small church ministry. It is not a model that you have read about or seen advertised. No seminars or conferences about this model exist. There is no notebook, website, CD, or video link. Yet, it is so obvious that we have missed it
Community
Several years ago I was pastoring in North Carolina. A young mother with two kids started attending our church. Every Sunday morning the father would drop mom and the kids off at church, then return to pick them up after the 11 am service. Debbie worked in the preschool department
Uncategorized
As we approach the Easter season, the natural instinct is to try to make Easter a big day. Usually that makes sense because it is, after all, Easter. But at one church I pastored, we made Palm Sunday our big Sunday. Why? Because school spring break was always scheduled from