Christian Unity

Overcoming the Danger of Ministry Silos in the Small Church

/ 7 minutes of reading

If you’ve never heard of the term “ministry silo” before now, don’t worry. I first heard it a couple months ago, when some bloggers started using it. It’s one of those terms that’s really new, but people use it like everyone is supposed to automatically know what it means. I had to Google it.

Tim Stevens, in his very helpful new book, Fairness Is Overrated writes that “Silos are the walls that are between departments in an organization.”

Imagine a silo on a farm. It’s that very tall building filled with valuable crops. But it’s separated from the rest of the buildings by very high walls.

On a farm, silos protect the crops from cross-contamination. In a church, says Stevens, “Silos turn colleagues into competitors. …Silos will tear apart a church faster than just about anything. From a silo-built church come jealousy, slander, gossip, bitterness, conflict, and competition.”

In my experience, silos happen in two way in Small Churches – both of which need to be identified and overcome.

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Yes, the Church Can Still Reach “Kids These Days”

/ 4 minutes of reading

Disrespectful, thoughtless, destructive and selfish!

That’s what kids these days are! Including the youth in our neighborhood.

My church had a new sign installed just before Christmas. It took three years to design, raise funds and build it. It looks great. But the day it was installed, teenagers from the neighborhood were flipping their skateboards along the base of the sign, threatening to gouge holes in it.

My youth pastor caught them red-handed, and do you know what he did? He told them we love having them here, he asked them not to skateboard on the sign, then he invited them in for the church – and they came in.

What he didn’t do was get mad at them. Or call them any of the names in my first sentence.

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The Event Matters: How Going to Church Helps Us Be the Church

/ 5 minutes of reading

For almost 2,000 years, people have gathered for church. Because the event matters.

There’s something important about getting up on a Sunday morning (or heading out on a Saturday night, etc.) to gather with other believers.

It tells me and my family that being the church matters, because things that matter get carved into our schedules. They interrupt our week. They cost us something to do.

Yes, we are the church. But it’s also important that we go to church.

The event gives weight to the content.

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Is Your Negative Online Behavior Killing Your Ministry Opportunities?

/ 4 minutes of reading

What is it about the internet that seems to bring out the jerk in so many people? Ministers included.

If you have a habit of using the internet to vent, even if it’s to vent against things you feel need to be denounced, be aware of the unintended consequences attached to it.

It’s the new normal for pastoral search committees and church leaders to check out your online behavior when deciding to partner with you in ministry or hire their next pastor.

The biggest reason people pass you over? A mean, critical or overly judgmental spirit in online conversations.

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Every Revival Has Its Own Soundtrack (New Music, Part 2)

/ 9 minutes of reading

Well that was fun!

Monday’s post, God Has Never Done a New Thing Using Old Songs, received more comments than any other post over any two day period in the history of this site. It also stirred things up on Twitter, Facebook and my email inbox.

Yet, in spite of all the passion, the commenters were civil, thoughtful, reasonable and very helpful. No name-calling, mean language or accusations of heresy in the whole bunch. Whadya know, maybe we can have disagreements on the internet and still respect each other. Way to go, everyone!

Since there were so many great questions and comments raised by Monday’s post, today’s post is a collection of questions and responses that added something new to the conversation. This way, you won’t have to scroll through everything just to see where the conversation went.

So, with genuine thanks to everyone who participated in the conversation, here’s how some of the Comments and Responses went.

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I Don’t Like the Way You Do Church

/ 2 minutes of reading

I don’t like the way you do church.

The music is too loud or too soft
The preaching is too emotional or too academic
The pastor is too unavailable or too nosy
The building is too ornate or too plain
The liturgy is too old or too new
The ethnic mix is too homogenous or too diverse
The congregation is too big or too small
The sermons are too long or… no that’s it – they’re too long
That’s OK.

You feel the same about my church. For the same reasons.

There’s no style of church that everyone likes.

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