The gospel was built on failure. The good news started as very bad news. It was never supposed to work. For a long time, it looked like it never would.
The Gospel Of Failure (A Good Friday Reflection) Read More »
What if we could reduce the sting of failure when a new ministry doesn’t go as we had hoped? It might give us the courage to innovate more often.
We can, if we try this simple principle: put an expiration date on every new ministry idea.
27 Benefits of Putting an Expiration Date On New Ministries In Your Church Read More »
For decades (yes, decades!) I refused to acknowledge that my church was small or that I was a Small Church pastor. Not any more. Now, I’m not just OK with it, I celebrate it.
Some people don’t like using the term Small Church because, in their minds, that term equates with a church being sickly, settling or worse. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
8 Reasons Why It’s OK to Call Your Church a Small Church Read More »
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…
The Next Time Your Ministry Feels Like a Failure, Remember This Read More »
There are a lot of reasons healthy Small Churches stay small that have nothing to do with lack of faith, wrong principles, laziness, settling for less or incompetence. I’ve written about some of those reasons here already. Here’s another reason. Sometimes churches stay small because small is their only option. Today, I’m presenting two posts
When Small Is Your Only Option (A Video and a Podcast) Read More »
“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
The Main Thing I Wish I Knew Before I Became a Pastor Read More »
It’s been over a decade since our church started a ministry that failed. Are we that brilliant? No. We just don’t start new ministries any more. We try experiments, instead. If I were to start the turnaround process in a church again, this is the #1 rule I would follow from Day 1 – outside
27 Advantages of Putting an Expiration Date on New Ministries 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 »
You give away a lot more than you realize when you’re on the internet. Now that I operate a website, I get to see some of those secrets. For instance, my website software shows me every search term that people use to find my blog. It’s fun and encouraging to discover that people have found
“Small Church Pastors Should Quit” and Other Monday Google Searches Read More »
