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Finally, a Definitive List of Every Essential Element for an Effective Church
Too many church leaders spend too much time on too many things that aren’t essential to an effective church.
But what are the essential elements of an effective church? Good news. I’ve found the definitive list and today I’m going to share it with you.
When People Leave: The Private Pain of the Small Church Pastor
It’s taken me a long time to hit “publish” on today’s post because, when I raise an issue, I like to provide solutions or alternatives. But I don’t have a solution to this one.
So today’s post is not about answers. It’s a recognition of our shared pain. With the hope that we can find some sort of solace by knowing we’re not alone in these feelings. Here are some painful truths many of us have felt when people leave our churches.
The Cross Is Not a Celebration of Suffering, But of Jesus’ Victory Over It
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.
Yes, My Church Still Calls It Easter – Here are 5 Reasons Why
I wish Easter wasn’t called Easter. It would be great if everyone knew it as Resurrection Sunday. But they don’t. So, while our church uses both terms, Easter is our go-to – especially when we invite people to join us.
If your church doesn’t use the word Easter, I’m not arguing that you should. But here are five reasons why we do.
The Next Time Your Ministry Feels Like a Failure, Remember This
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…
Online Church Is Great, But It’s Not Enough
The church needs to be more digital. For Small Churches especially, the digital world can level the playing field and give us a broader reach and wider ministry than we currently have.
We need more churches taking advantage of online services, podcasts, livestreaming, social media, blogging, you name it.
But church will never be digital. Screen-to-screen is no substitute for face-to-face. Digital reality cannot replace actual reality.
A Fun, Free Way For Church Members to Invite Friends for Easter (Or Any Time)
For years, we used to spend a lot of time and money to create an Easter invitation flyer. Then we’d spend way too much money to print it and run it in a neighborhood magazine or newspaper. But we received very little benefit from all that work and expense.
With social media, we changed our tactics. We started creating our own flyers and making them available for church members to post on their social media pages. Not only was it free but, since people are always putting stuff like that on social media anyway, it felt less like advertising and more like chatting with friends.
This year, we’re taking it a step further. In addition to creating an Easter flyer for the church, we’re helping everyone at the church create their own personalized invitation. In today’s post, I’ll show you how we’re doing it.
Why I Don’t Go to the Bible to Find a Text to Preach On
When we treat the bible like a collection of sermon texts, we lose the wonder and the beauty of it. When we read it to find material to preach from, we stop hearing God speak to us. And when that happens, we start dying spiritually. It’s all output and no inflow.
That’s a dangerous position for a pastor to be in. And it has killed many great ministries. Don’t let it kill yours.
Pastors, We Don’t Expect a TED Talk, But We Need a God-and-You Talk
Pastors face a lot of pressure to perform. Some of it, admittedly, is self-imposed.
One of the main places this pressure is felt is in the demand to research, write and deliver a great sermon every week. In fact, several times in the last few months, I’ve read blog posts that have suggested that every Sunday sermon should be like a TED Talk.
In today’s post, I’d like to do two things that may seem impossible to accomplish simultaneously. Relieve some of the performance pressure and challenge us all towards something better.
