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How to Shepherd a 100+ Member Church Without Losing Your Sanity
Most Small Church pastors are shepherds. It’s not our choice, it’s our calling. There are good reasons for pastors of large churches to move from the shepherding/pastoring model to the ranching/management model. But most pastors aren’t called to be ranchers or to manage systems. Most of us are called to pastor people. In the first
Size ≠ Health: My Friendly Critique of a Rick Warren Interview
I like Rick Warren. A lot. I’ve never met him, but I’ve learned a lot from him. And we both live in Orange County, California, so we have several friends in common. They all speak very highly of his kindness, integrity and generous spirit. “Genuine” is the word they use most often. As much as I
It’s Not Magic: Great Pastors Come from Great Struggles
What makes a great pastor? The bad news is, it’s not easy. The good news is, you’re probably doing it already. Great coaches and great pastors some from the same place. And no, you don’t have to be a sports fan to get something from this analogy. Have you ever wondered where all the superstar
Pastoring Shouldn’t Be This Hard (And 4 Ways to Make It Easier)
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
The Main Thing I Wish I Knew Before I Became a Pastor
“They didn’t tell me this in bible school.” How many times has every Small Church pastor said that under our breath while dreading the upcoming deacon meeting, trying to take our first weekend off in years, or doing random repairs on the church building? Thom Rainer surveyed a bunch of pastors on that question, without regard to church
Dear Pastor, Please Put Us To Work. Love, Your Congregation
Small Church members don’t start out wanting to be passive, anonymous, consumer Christians. We (pastors) help to make them that way. That’s the kick-in-the-butt takeaway I got from a comment that was written on this website last week in response to my post “What If We Made Disciples and Left Church Growth to God?” The
They Just Don’t Get It: When Big Church Solutions Meet Small Church Realities
“They just don’t get it.” How many times have I said that while shaking my head after reading articles, blogposts and books about church leadership? I could write a book. Oh, right… I know I’m not alone in this. If you’re a Small Church pastor, you’ve had the same experience on many occasions. The articles
What If We Made Disciples and Left Church Growth to God?
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?
Only In a Small Church: When Stories Beat Stats
When did all the preachers become statistics junkies? I can’t remember the last church leadership book or seminar that didn’t emphasize the value of setting goals for your church, then using some kind of metric to determine whether-or-not we are succeeding at reaching them. I understand the need to assess our progress. If we don’t
