church leaders
Update: BuildingChurchLeaders.com, a Christianity Today site, cross-posted this on their Off The Agenda blog today. The news from both the Middle East and the midwest has been interesting lately. On the one hand, government leaders in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Yemen, and now Libya are being challenged by their own
evangelism
Wednesday I head off to San Diego for my fourth year at the National Outreach Convention, known affectionately as NOC. I hope you'll be there for all of the workshops, discussion forums, worship sessions, major speakers, and more. One of the really great things about NOC is the
Congregation
God's timing is important. It's so important that the writers of the New Testament distinguished between chronological time, chronos; and, the right time, kairos. Of course, there is much more to it than that, but you get the point. The biblical writers knew the difference between
Culture
Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center, leads a congregation of 50 people in Gainesville, Florida. Normally, churches with 50 members are not featured on CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, the NY Times, Washington Post, and every other media outlet in existence. But, Terry and his flock, like Fred
Congregation
Years ago, LifeWay's focus on pastoral ministry was contained in three words -- lead, care, proclaim. Lead included church administration with its committee meetings, planning sessions, and member training. Care involved pastoral care of the congregation, and the pastor's training of and relationship with caregivers such
Congregation
“How can I get them to change?” As a small church pastor, I think I’ve asked myself that question at least once a day in every church I have pastored. Wanting the churches we pastor to change is part of our DNA. We see opportunities for improvement, expansion, growth,
Culture
Seth Godin asks How long before you run out of talking points? His point is that those who "live into" rather than just "talk about" (my words, not Godin's) what they espouse are the real deal. Then he says, There's a lot
Culture
Michael Kelley gets to the heart of small church authenticity over at Ed Stetzer's blog today. Here's an excerpt: The reason we have something to learn is that we have tried to be Starbucks. We've tried to be slick, trendy, and hip. We'
Leadership
For those of you who missed the webinar, The Strengths of a Small Church, with Brandon O'Brien and me, the video is online now. Tim Avery at BuildingChurchLeaders.com put it up yesterday at their site. The seminar was well-attended with lots of participation in the comments and
Creativity
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuPqx3PIaGQ&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1] Bruce Feiler, author of the book, The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me, talks about his diagnosis
duties
What energizes you? One of the things I like about ministry is that a pastor gets to do a variety of different things. In one day you can spend time alone studying and praying for your next Sunday's sermon; then visit the hospital to celebrate the birth of
call and response blog
Gannon Sims offers excellent insight on watchfulness over at Duke's Call and Response Blog. He says of watchfulness: It's a good word for the church. In his instructions to the church at Colossae, Paul asks his readers to be watchful. Leadership trades more often in words