Articles
8 Ways Churches Can Welcome Well
Attending church can be the loneliest event of the week for new visitors longing for connection. When my family moved from Chicago to Colorado, we visited nearly twenty churches in three years. (We considered starting a collection of church mugs from welcome tables.)...
4 Ways to Thrive as a Leader
Executive pastors hold a unique role in the church. They’re responsible for maintaining and improving church operations, as well as ensuring their church team remains healthy and aligned with their church’s vision. It takes a blend of business acumen and...
Four Phrases Every Pastor Should Say Every Sunday
There’s something powerful about repetition. Doing the same thing day in and day out. Over time habits start to form, and those habits play a big role in our lives. If you have good habits, your life tends to go well. If you have bad habits, your life...
10 Preaching Mistakes You Should Avoid
I always feel a bit awkward giving preachers advice on preaching since I’m an Executive Pastor who only preaches a few times of year, but just hear me out. I’m actually probably more qualified than most people because while you are preaching the...
Engage children in worship in 4 simple steps
“How do we engage children in church?” This age-old question remains paramount for almost every children’s ministry leader, parent and pastor. And if you’ve ever sat up late at night, cutting out the gazillionth piece for some Pinterest craft that seemed...
Understanding the Purpose of Submitting to Sound Biblical, Ethical, and Spiritual Leadership
One significant responsibility every Christian has is to submit to the established spiritual authority that God has set over him or her. It’s a very simple recipe, if followed. However, one reason why so many bad things happen to so many Christians is that they don’t...
Motivated To Missions? …Or Not?
Are you self-motivated? Are you the type that wakes up without an alarm clock to go read the Bible and exercise before the day even begins? Are you the type whose just always cleaned the bedroom before mom had to ask? Are you the type who seeks out new job...
Why I Hate John 3:16
John 3:16 is arguably the most familiar verse in the Bible. It seems everywhere you look there is a sign with this verse on it. Most sporting events will have at least one person setting in the stands with this verse in large letters on a poster board. “So, is that a...
A Life of Listening
That year when my mother left us could have been a terribly lonely time as I finished my first year of high school. But I had friends, especially Danny Goldsmith, whom I had known since fifth grade when we traded postage stamps. Danny and I would walk home from high...
Powerful New App
Conflict resolution is an interesting idea, but it is often very difficult to achieve. It's no wonder that so many Christians rightly solicit the wise counsel of their pastor. The only problem with that is that scheduling time with a pastor can be...
Comforters
“He comforts us whenever we suffer. That is why whenever other people suffer, we are able to comfort them by using the same comfort we have received from God.” (2Corinthians 1:4 GWT) We all go through difficulties. Jesus told us that we would have trouble in this...
Why Church
Many years have passed since I had my crisis of “church faith.” My conversion to Jesus at the age of sixteen was in some ways a conversion away from the church I had come to experience and only partially love. I had tried to leave the church and just focus on...
Orphan-Care as Strategic Pastoral Ministry
I am the result of a teen pregnancy that predates Roe v. Wade by just over one year. God placed me in a loving family and church where I was influenced by the gospel. God gave me a wife who is concerned for the gospel, the church, and the needs of vulnerable kids. God...
Confessions of an Angry Pastor
Augustine’s Confessions was the very first Western autobiography. Countless others have followed. The newest is by Brent C. Hofer. Brent, what’s it about? As pastors, it’s not enough for us to manage anger. Recovery is possible. I’m living proof....
Five Keys to an Effective Evangelism Strategy
How many people have you invited to church in the last week? The last month? The last year? I’ll be honest, for me the answer would be not near enough. But in my defense, I generally see the same 3-5 people each week in my small town, and they all have a home church....
Stand-off
“Stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18b BSB) My son, Paul Jr., was a fairly mild mannered boy growing up. Though sometimes an instigator of mischief toward his older sisters, he tended to “turn the other cheek” when...
We Were Created For Worship
I notice that when I put on praise and worship music and spend some time listening and singing the words, and take time to focus on God and thank Him for loving me and for all of His countless blessings in my life, it changes my whole day for the better. I think I...
Prayer: A Ritual or a Relationship?
Are you satisfied with your prayer life? Does time alone with God in prayer hold the highest priority in your day, or does it get pushed aside by the urgent? Are you just saying words, or are you pouring out your heart to the Father? To be honest, most of us struggle...
Three Misconceptions Your Congregation May Have about Faith and Works
One of the perennial puzzles for preachers is how to best communicate the statements about justification from James and Paul. On the one hand, James writes, “A person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). Yet Paul says, “One is justified by faith...
3 Questions Every Small Town Pastor Should be Asking
Do you remember the Robert Frost poem “The Road Not Taken?” The premise is in life we have choices, and sometimes choosing to take the road less traveled can make all the difference. Today, I was looking through some old notebooks of mine and came across some thoughts...
