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Let’s Ask Better Questions About Church Size
Instead of asking “what’s the best church size?” we need to ask “what’s the best church size for a given situation?” The best size for one church may not be the best size for another church. Even the church right across the street.
Better questions might include
What’s the best church size for the people we’re called to reach?
What’s the best church size for this pastor’s leadership gifts and calling?
What’s the best church size for our church’s purpose and philosophy of ministry?
What’s the best church size for our church right now?
Living In the Dynamic Tension Between Pastor and Manager
I did not leverage my time well this week. It was wasted in personal pastoral care. Over a dozen hours were squandered in pastoral counseling – marriage, pre-marriage, divorce recovery, and some harrowing life challenges that they wouldn’t share with anyone but their pastor. I lost additional hours helping a new believer sort out the next steps in their spiritual life.
5 Principles to Consider Before Starting or Stopping a Ministry
Wouldn’t it be great if every local church and every ministry within each church was vital, valuable and meeting real needs? Certainly a 100% success record is not possible. It’s not even desirable, since we learn as much through our failures as our successes. But increasing our batting average on successful ministries is always a
The World’s Best Small Churches
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
Jesus Never Told Us To Fill Church Buildings
Going to church has never been the point. Jesus didn’t tell us to “work really hard to gather people into large crowds to fill up your church buildings. Then I’ll know that you love me.” But when you look at how most pastors (including me) spend much of our time and energy, sometimes it feels like we
Effective Church Leaders Do Not Treat Everyone Equally
Effective leaders always seek wise advice and counsel. In Small Churches, there’s a huge temptation for pastors to treat everyone’s advice as though it has equal value. We’re often told that getting everyone’s input is the only fair way to do things. Some Small Churches even require congregational votes on almost every decision. It’s hard for me to imagine a
Sorry Christians, We Can’t Blame the Media Any More
“Blame the media” has always been a popular game for Christians to play. Not long ago, Christians had a legitimate claim that our reputation was bad because the media was against us. That’s not the case anymore. Oh sure, the media in general may still think negatively about Christians, if they think about us at all.
Note to Pastors: The Size and Growth of the Church is Not Up to Us
No, I don’t actually have a note on my desk reminding me that the size of my church isn’t up to me. But maybe I should. Maybe a lot of us should. I know one thing for sure. If the size of my church was up to me, it would have been a lot bigger a long
Megachurch Pastors: Heroes, Villains or Something Else?
Megachurch pastors are a step beneath used car salesmen and ambulance-chasing lawyers in the eyes of many people in our culture. On the other side, we have a church growth culture that idealizes megachurches almost to the point of idolatry.
So who are these megachurch pastors? Villains who have corrupted the Gospel? Or heroes of the faith?
Here are 5 principles that help me avoid either extreme in my attitude towards megachurches and their leaders.
