Sep 27, 2023 | Uncategorized
I had just finished speaking at the fourth service (of five services) at a church in California. Any morning energy I’d had from coffee had worn off, and my stomach kept sending fierce reminders that I should have eaten that morning. Following every service, I would...
Sep 22, 2023 | Editor's Pick, Pastor's Life
Maybe you deal with anxiety by going into control mode. If I asked you to tell me specifically what causes you anxiety, what isn’t working in your life, what would you say? Chances are many of you wouldn’t point to circumstances or mention a situation; rather, you’d...
Sep 19, 2023 | Personal Development
How’s your way working? I know a lot of different readers have a lot of different things going on in their lives. I’m just wondering how your way is working for you? I know some of you are married, but a lot of you aren’t married. What if you never get married? Have...
Sep 15, 2023 | Leadership
A charismatic leader in a church with a wide influence on the various assistant pastors, directors, and small group leaders used his influence too often in unChristian ways. He had an eye for who “fit” and who had the “DNA.” He also perceived those who disagreed with...
Sep 12, 2023 | Church Matters, Leadership, Spiritual Growth
Okay, you’ve read and heard this verse many times. But let’s read it closely and carefully one more time: “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer” (Acts...
Sep 8, 2023 | Church Matters, Leadership
This topic surfaces in almost every church consultation or interview we do. People in smaller churches believe that megachurches have taken—or “stolen” as they often say—their families. The matriarch in one interview certainly thought so. She named almost a dozen...
Sep 5, 2023 | Church Matters, Leadership, Personal Development, Refreshment
Practically everywhere we turn today, we find someone we care about experiencing some sort of marital crisis. And the fallout does not just impact the couple themselves. Children, extended family, church community, and overall cultural health are all negatively...
Sep 1, 2023 | Church Matters, Leadership, Personal Development, Perspectives
Social media likely shapes the people you love and disciple more than you do. What are you going to do about it? I think there are, simply speaking, two wrong ways to approach social media: 1) uncritical embrace and 2) passive ignorance. These are two ends of a...
Aug 29, 2023 | Devotion, Inspiration, Personal Development
As the calendar year winds down, as the days darken and grow short, as Christmas songs spill from crowded stores and children set about making wish lists for Santa, the church’s year dawns. On the fourth Sunday before Christmas, Advent begins. The first day of Advent...
