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 tends to fall...
Five Ministries Every Church Needs to Be Good At
Most small town churches are trying to do too much. In reality, you really only need to be good at about five things, and I would argue you could get by with being really good at three of them. For many years the church I serve has offered a great kid’s ministry, a...
4 Simple And Effective Growth-Engaging Techniques
I’ve yet to meet a pastor who wants 2019 to be labeled by their church as the “Year Of Blah.” Yet you know the struggle it can be for our congregants to attend regularly, or–especially–to engage. I’ve noticed something significant among churches I’ve worked with this...
If We Had More Prayer…
“If we had more prayer and less selfishness, our world would be much better.” A person I have known and respected for many years wrote that simple sentence to me in an email the other day, and for some reason it really resonated with me: More prayer and less...
Living Intentionally
What would you do if you knew you only had six months to live? That question confronted me during a recent close brush with death. A blood clot had formed in my lungs. I filled a tiny red notebook provided by the hospital with thoughts on how to leave nothing...
Proximity and Presence
At Canaan we are trying to live into our tagline “the church where love makes the difference,” which we have found to be a very dangerous statement. Christians often tell people we love them before we have ever lived with, listened to, or learned from...
Heaven: It’s Not for Everyone
Most people believe in an afterlife. And in most cases, this belief involves a good place and a bad place. If you’re a good person, and you embrace the right beliefs, you go to the good place. If you’re not, and you don’t, you go to the bad place. Seems simple enough....
Four ways to help your teens disconnect from social media and spend time with God
It’s no surprise that students need to spend daily time alone with God. And its also no surprise that a student’s relationship with God can improve if they would just spend some time cultivating that relationship through reading the bible and praying....
Improving Family Relationships: A New Year’s Resolution
You’ve heard it said many times before. You’ve likely even said it to yourself. “Don’t sacrifice your family for your ministry.” You know it’s true, but you continue to struggle with the implementation. It’s not just about the preaching and teaching, but...
To Give or Volunteer, that is–NOT–the question.
The American church has, in practice, converted some principles away from their original meaning. Particularly, it seems the ideal of volunteering has replaced true giving. To make my point, let’s convert a few well-known verses to how they’re being played out in...
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 tends to fall...
Five Ministries Every Church Needs to Be Good At
Most small town churches are trying to do too much. In reality, you really only need to be good at about five things, and I would argue you could get by with being really good at three of them. For many years the church I serve has offered a great kid’s ministry, a...
4 Simple And Effective Growth-Engaging Techniques
I’ve yet to meet a pastor who wants 2019 to be labeled by their church as the “Year Of Blah.” Yet you know the struggle it can be for our congregants to attend regularly, or–especially–to engage. I’ve noticed something significant among churches I’ve worked with this...
If We Had More Prayer…
“If we had more prayer and less selfishness, our world would be much better.” A person I have known and respected for many years wrote that simple sentence to me in an email the other day, and for some reason it really resonated with me: More prayer and less...
Living Intentionally
What would you do if you knew you only had six months to live? That question confronted me during a recent close brush with death. A blood clot had formed in my lungs. I filled a tiny red notebook provided by the hospital with thoughts on how to leave nothing...
Proximity and Presence
At Canaan we are trying to live into our tagline “the church where love makes the difference,” which we have found to be a very dangerous statement. Christians often tell people we love them before we have ever lived with, listened to, or learned from...
Heaven: It’s Not for Everyone
Most people believe in an afterlife. And in most cases, this belief involves a good place and a bad place. If you’re a good person, and you embrace the right beliefs, you go to the good place. If you’re not, and you don’t, you go to the bad place. Seems simple enough....
Four ways to help your teens disconnect from social media and spend time with God
It’s no surprise that students need to spend daily time alone with God. And its also no surprise that a student’s relationship with God can improve if they would just spend some time cultivating that relationship through reading the bible and praying....
Improving Family Relationships: A New Year’s Resolution
You’ve heard it said many times before. You’ve likely even said it to yourself. “Don’t sacrifice your family for your ministry.” You know it’s true, but you continue to struggle with the implementation. It’s not just about the preaching and teaching, but...
To Give or Volunteer, that is–NOT–the question.
The American church has, in practice, converted some principles away from their original meaning. Particularly, it seems the ideal of volunteering has replaced true giving. To make my point, let’s convert a few well-known verses to how they’re being played out in...
Helping Your Small Group Thrive
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