Being a pastor is the fourth hardest job in America. That’s been the common wisdom floating around the internet for a couple years now. It may be true. But it shouldn’t be true. It certainly doesn’t need to be true. I think it’s time to stop making it true. There are two reasons people believe that statement to be […]
Pastoring Shouldn’t Be This Hard (And 4 Ways to Make It Easier) Read More »
We’re often told that one of the reasons so many churches remain small is lack of faith. But I wonder… could it be that the reverse is true? Might our obsession with bigger and bigger churches be rooted in a greater lack of faith?
Have we been afraid that God might not do his part (building his church) if we’d simply be faithful to do our part (making disciples)? Is it possible that the glut of church growth books, seminars and classes in the last few decades been our attempt to help God out?
What If We Made Disciples and Left Church Growth to God? Read More »
Church health and church growth are not mutually exclusive. There are plenty of large, healthy churches that do both – and way too many unhealthy small ones that do neither. But one doesn’t necessarily lead to the other. Not all healthy churches grow big. And not all big churches are healthy. In more than 30
Big? Or Healthy? If You HAD to Choose… Read More »
Three facts sit atop my “things I wish someone had told me in bible college” list. Fact #1: 80-90% of pastoral ministry students will never pastor a church larger than 250 people. Fact #2: 99.9% of us will pastor a Small Church for at least some time in our ministry. Fact #3: You can pastor
Ministry Reality Check: We’re All Gonna Pastor a Small Church Read More »
People can behave in ugly ways when we try to take the credit that should be God’s alone. This is a story of one of those times. It’s a story that might upset some people, because it airs some of our dirty laundry. (If the title hasn’t ticked you off already, that is.) But it’s also
The Day My Church Lost Hundreds of Converts – And I Learned to Be OK With It Read More »
Why does everyone want to be like the first century church? From what I can tell, it wasn’t that much different from today’s church. They had large and small churches. Healthy, sick and dead churches. Churches with strong leaders, weak leaders and sinful leaders. They worshiped God imperfectly and fought over theology. Some churches gave
If the Apostles Didn’t Teach Church Growth, Why Do We? Read More »
Recruiting and keeping givers and volunteers is harder than it used to be. If I was ever tempted to tell Small Church pastors to quit whining about something, this would be it. It used to be fairly easy to get church members to commit to consistent giving and/or volunteering. Ask for a missions pledge, and
Grasshopper Myth: People Aren’t as Committed as They Used to Be Read More »
Why do so many pastors not practice what we preach? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a cynic. And I’m definitely not a pastor-basher. I have a great admiration for pastors and what they (we) do. Pastors may be the hardest-working, most undervalued members of our society. And that goes double for Small Church pastors.
Redefining Success Without Lowering Your Standards Read More »
Why do so many pastors not practice what we preach? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a cynic. And I’m definitely not a pastor-basher. I have a great admiration for pastors and what they (we) do. Pastors may be the hardest-working, most undervalued members of our society. And that goes double for Small Church pastors.
Redefining Success Without Lowering Your Standards Read More »
Small Churches receive a lot from our megachurch friends. We read their books, sing their songs, use their curriculum and attend their seminars. And we’re grateful. But the benefits don’t have to flow only one way. There are some very important, though less obvious things that megachurches can learn from Small Churches. Not necessarily books
5 Principles Megachurches Can Learn From Small Churches Read More »
