No one will ever make a list of the greatest Small Churches in the world. And they shouldn’t. After all, a great urban Small Church looks very different from a great rural one. Same with a great Baptist and Methodist church. Or a great Small Church in Japan or Costa Rica, etc. Even if there […]
The World’s Best Small Churches Read More »
Is your church struggling to break through the 200 barrier? The 100 barrier? The 50 barrier? Have you ever considered that those numbers may not be barriers at all? If you’re struggling to grow past a certain number, it may not be a problem. It may be God’s way of telling you he wants you
Why You Don’t Have to Be Afraid of the 200 Barrier (Podcast) Read More »
We all struggle with the age-old question, “Is God pleased with me and what I’m doing?” Because prayer is hard, many of us use cheap substitutes to answer that question.
Instead of wrestling with the difficult aspects of our relationship with Jesus, many pastors rely on the newest church leadership methods and systems to answer the “is God pleased with me?” question.
It’s quicker and easier to measure our success through numbers and metrics than it is to struggle with our insecurities through prayer. But quicker and easier aren’t better.
For Every Minister Who Struggles With Your Prayer Life Read More »
If a church is healthy in every way but numerical growth, is it really stuck? No.
It turns out my church wasn’t stuck at all. It was just small. And if that’s the case – if a Small Church can be a healthy church – then maybe numerical growth isn’t the be-all, end-all sign of health we’ve made it out to be.
Maybe a healthy Small Church is an OK thing to be.
Is Your Church Stuck, Or Just Small? Read More »
Pastoring is hard work, with little reward. No matter what size your church is. Pastoring a Small Church is hard work with fewer tangible rewards. Not to mention what sometimes feels like a constant drumbeat of criticism when your church isn’t growing like some people think it should.
If you’re a Small Church pastor or church leader, please take this short blog post as evidence that you’re loved and appreciated. You’re not alone. God knows. And so do a lot of us who work in the trenches with you.
There is nothing noble about suffering. Pain, sorrow, poverty, sickness, disease, violence and death have no redemptive value. They are not a part of God’s plan to save the world. They are what Jesus came to save us from.
We need to remember that this weekend.
The Cross Is Not a Celebration of Suffering, But of Jesus’ Victory Over It Read More »
Jesus never wrote a book or erected a building for his followers to rally around.
His trial was a farce, but his torture was real. At his death he hung naked, and bleeding. His flesh hanging in strips from his barely-recognizable body. As he died, he didn’t just feel forsaken by God, he actually was forsaken by God.
Jesus’ ministry was a failure.
Until…
The Next Time Your Ministry Feels Like a Failure, Remember This Read More »
The point of salvation is not just to give us a get-out-of-hell-free card. It’s so that we can enter into a real, ongoing, loving relationship with Jesus.
And the point of ministry is not to have a job that pays the bills and gets us pats on the back. It’s to lead others into an ongoing, loving relationship with Jesus. And the best way to do that is by being a living example of how to have that relationship.
Relationships need regular communication. Prayer does that for our relationship with Jesus. But I’ve never met anyone who said they were completely happy with their prayer life. Including pastors.
Prayer may be the most overlooked aspect of Christian life and pastoral ministry. Even though we know it’s the most important.
We need to become better pray-ers. But how?
Why Doesn’t God Answer All My Prayers? Because Some of Them are Stupid Read More »
There are many churches who are following all the principles, but never break through the growth barriers.
There are no guaranteed steps to church growth or health. Because the church is people. And people never come with guarantees.
So, what’s a pastor to do? Here’s the only advice I know.
Stay faithful, no matter the results. Faithfulness doesn’t help us reach our goals. Faithfulness is the goal.
We Followed the Steps – Where’s the Church Growth? Read More »
A healthy church does not inevitably mean a growing church. I used to believe that it did. After all, I’ve read about the “truth” of inevitable church growth in every church leadership book written in the last 30 years. I even taught it myself.
I don’t believe it any more. It’s a myth. The reason I no longer believe that numerical growth is inevitable for a healthy church has to do with one problem that kept presenting itself…
The evidence stubbornly refuses to back it up.
#BestOf2013: The Myth of Inevitable Church Growth Read More »
