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Saying “I Can’t” May Be Your Missing Key to Success
“I can’t” may be the two most liberating words missing from your leadership lexicon.
For years I’ve been told by well-meaning preachers and teachers that if I have enough faith, I can do anything I want to do.
But it’s not true. I can’t do anything I want to do. Neither can you. Knowing and embracing that truth has freed me. And it can free you, too.
What a Rabbi Taught Me About Keeping Christ In Christmas
“Keep Christ in Christmas” is a familiar saying this time of the year. But you don’t expect to hear it from the local rabbi.
For several years I was involved in our town’s Police Chaplaincy. One year, at our December meeting, the Methodist pastor noticed that the napkins had a picture of Santa Claus on them. He slid one across the table to the rabbi from the local synagogue.
“Hey Steve,” he asked, “what do Jewish people think about Santa Claus?”
“Nothing,” the rabbi responded as he picked up the napkin. “Santa is a Christmas character.”
“But he’s a secular figure,” countered the Methodist. “Don’t you even let the kids do presents from Santa so they won’t feel left out?”
“No,” he responded. “We don’t worry about that. In fact I think you Christians ought to keep Christ in Christmas.”
Two More Church Growth & Leadership Lies: The Church is American and White
I am a proud American. But Jesus wasn’t. The church isn’t. And my faith isn’t.
I’m also white and English-speaking. But Jesus wasn’t those either. And neither is the vast majority of his church.
Yet, if you pay attention to the church stats cited by most bloggers, speakers and authors, they tend to be very heavily slanted towards white, English-speaking Americans. Often exclusively so.
This slanted view gives us an inaccurate picture of who and what the 21st century church looks like.
It’s a big world out there. Jesus cares about all of it.
So should we.
In today’s post I’m going to take a hard, possibly uncomfortable look at two lies we end up believing when we pay almost exclusive attention to the white, English-speaking, American church.
Just To Be Clear: Church Growth Is a GOOD Thing
The problem with churches and numbers isn’t when we celebrate growth. It’s when we make butts-in-the-seat growth our only factor for growth and health.
14 Church Growth and Leadership Lies We Need to Stop Believing
People have frustrating tendency to believe statements that reinforce our previous opinions, even if those statements are obviously false. Christians are not immune to this. Neither are Christian leaders. And we seem to be especially susceptible to this when it comes to church growth. We believe what we want to believe. Facts are secondary.
I Don’t Like the Same Small Churches You Don’t Like
Let’s stop making assumptions about all Small Churches based on bad experiences with some Small Churches. Each one deserves to stand or fall on its own.
Small Church Hall of Fame: The Pilgrims
The people we now know as Pilgrims weren’t the only ones who were dissatisfied with the way things were in England. But they made a difference because they took action. Like a lot of their bible heroes, they left where they were without knowing where they’d end up. For many world-changers, action comes first. A plan comes later.
Adapt Or Die: 6 Ways to Create a Change Culture In Your Church
Because of our size, Small Churches are more capable of changing than our larger counterparts. Here are 6 steps many innovative Small Churches have taken to bake change into the core of who they are.
Reaching the World for Jesus is Too Important for Megachurches to Do Alone
Megachurches, we’re with you. You’re our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our partners in ministry. We know that the task of reaching our communities, nations, cultures and world is an enormous one. And an enormously important one. We don’t expect you to do it alone. It’s time for the 90% to come alongside the 10% and get our hands dirty together.
