Articles
The 95 5 Principle
Many years ago when I was in seminary, I was given an assignment to write a research paper on any problem a shepherd (pastor)/staff may face on a regular bases. After several weeks of interviewing multiple shepherds and staff I began to see a pattern emerge that I...
For the Love of Jesus
Why do we serve? Why do we give of ourselves, day in, day out, week after week? We all know the answer: because of love. Right. But what is the object of our love? Whom or what do we love in order to allow ourselves to be given? Once again, the answer seems obvious:...
I Considered Your Church, And Passed
Isn’t one of a pastor’s unspoken fears that lurking about in the community are unknown people who have given your church—the place you sacrificially pour out your soul to grow—a preliminary examination and decided visiting wasn’t worth the bother? Ouch, that’s harsh!...
The Power of Praise!
This is something we are super passionate about in Planetshakers, and something that Ps Russell and Sam Evans are always teaching and showing us. It’s something they have carried to a generation. I can honestly say, that it was as a young person going to Planetshakers...
Build a publication from the ground up.
Have you ever had to start a church newsletter from scratch? If not, you may face that challenge someday. Maybe you’ll accept a job at a church that’s never had a newsletter. Or a publication might become so outdated that church leaders ask you to start over. Or a...
The Challenge in Preaching: Do They Know What We Mean?
I have a missionary friend who has been uniquely used by God. But, I confess one thing: he does annoy me. When he is conversing, he frequently interjects a phrase, “Do you know what I mean?” Almost seems like an elongated “uh” or “um.” However, upon further...
Announcements, Bulletins, and When to Say No
“Can you announce that the mission team is having a barbeque fundraiser this Saturday? The ladies quilting group won’t be able to meet next week either. Make sure to get that in the bulletin. Oh and by the way, last Sunday you forgot to mention that the Richardsons...
Atheism on Trial
Like all the major arguments against God, particularly the Christian God, the problem of pain has been with us for thousands of years; and yet, when it comes to this specific argument, there is a great irony. In the early church and Middle Ages, when disease and...
Why Religious Leaders Need to Cultivate Self-Control and How to Do So
The Bible describes self-control as an invaluable trait. However, it isn’t something you’re born with. It is a skill that needs to be cultivated, especially in religious leaders. But what exactly is self-control? Why is self-control so important? And how can you...
Every Church Welcome Needs These Five Elements
Hi, welcome to the blog. My, that’s some weather we’ve been having, isn’t it? This is unfortunately how many churches welcome people to church. It doesn’t connect with people. It doesn’t communicate value, and it’s not even that welcoming. We have to do better than...
Read this Before You Go Live on Facebook
There are now over 2.2 billion Facebook users across the world. A staggering number, and one that continues to grow year after year. If you’re doing ministry in a small town or rural setting, it may have taken a little longer for the Facebook craze to hit, but at this...
Is The One Pastor System What God Intended?
Like many of you I was saved and baptized in a church with one pastor and a deacon board. The pastor and deacons took care of most of the decisions required to keep the church functioning on a day-to-day basis. As a 15 year old boy, this system seemed to work pretty...
Pastors as Homemakers: Shaping the Christian’s First Family
A few years ago my wife and I attended a small international church in Limassol, Cyprus. Among the congregation were several Filipino domestic workers who led the singing, a couple who were refugees from Syria, about twenty Cypriots, and four pastors!...
Quiet Time? Haaahhhhhhh
Quiet times, huh? Does that phrase instantly make you feel guilty, like you don’t do enough when it comes to your spiritual life? There are two opposing lies about quiet times, and both can drag us down: It’s the law. It’s optional. You might be assuming...
The Place Where FOMO Becomes FOBI
One might think the term FOMO is a rather new term, but according to Wikipedia it was made popular over 10 years ago. For those of us who can’t keep up with such “new” words, this might be the first time we have ever even heard or read of such a term. FOMO, or Fear Of...
The One and Only
When I was a young girl, my dad told me a story about a well. He said, “Human beings are like wells. Every time we interact with someone, we take a little bit of our water to give them something to drink. But over time, if we continue to give from our...
When Sacred Space Intersects Secular Space
Driving down “church row” in small city USA, I would often wonder why we don’t fill our sacred spaces with the secular during the week in response to our call to reach our community. Seeing all of that space available and going unused always bothered me. Some churches...
The Secret to Staying Energized
What would you say zaps your strength? The kids? Your job? The soccer schedule? The unending housework? If you’re talking to other tired moms, chances are you’ll hear them point to external circumstances as the primary reason they’re exhausted. But the truth...
WAITING FACES IN FAR AWAY PLACES
You see the pictures regularly, and you hear the pleas for help. Somebody flashes a photo up on your screen of the most pitiful little face who seems to come from a far-off place, and your immediate thought is that they are simply tugging on your heartstrings to...
Bloodline
The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; from heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed.” (1 Samuel 2:10) What the prophet Samuel learned as he...
