Being willing to help is nice, but stepping in without being asked is even better. Use these practical tips to lighten your pastor’s load.
Why Your Pastor Is Tempted To Quit – And What To Do About It Read More »
Top-down leadership is not always right or always wrong. Pastors need to use the right tool at the right time.
When Is Top-Down Decision-Making The Right Choice For Your Church? Read More »
One of the pastor’s primary roles is to help people discover and implement the vision God has given them for their lives.
5 Problems With Top-Down Vision-Casting – And a New Testament Alternative Read More »
Jesus didn’t call us to be unique, he called us to be faithful. And simple faithfulness from a loving pastor may be what churches need now more than ever.
When The Vision For Your Church Is Unclear Read More »
There are thousands of conferences, books, podcasts, magazines and blogs dedicated to the study of church growth. What causes it? What hinders it? What can I do to make it happen in my church? I’m a big fan of studying this kind of phenomenon. If there are principles we can discover that will help us
Think Bigger: Why “How Do I Get Our Church To Grow?” Is The Wrong Question Read More »
Does God’s vision for our life, church and ministry have to be big to be real?
I keep hearing that it does. Sayings like “if your vision isn’t big enough to scare you, it’s not from God” have been popular for quite some time now. Apparently we’re all supposed to have a BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal – an acronym popularized by Jim Collins in his book Built to Last) if we’re walking in faith and greatness.
I’m just not sure that’s a necessary part of faith or obedience.
Sometimes our desire to chase one big vision after another is more about being addicted to the adrenaline rush of our own oversized passion than following the simple commands of God.
No, A God-Sized Vision Doesn’t Need To Be Big And Scary Read More »
You can’t have a great church without a great vision. That’s what I’ve been told.
And you can’t have a great vision unless the pastor (always the pastor) casts a singular vision for the church, then sells that vision to the leadership and the congregation. I’ve been told that, too.
So I did – or tried to do – what I was told. For years, I prayed, worked, searched the scriptures and listened to God in every way I know. I begged him for a vision that would carry our church to vast, new expanses of glorious ministry.
But it never quite worked out that way.
A Pastor’s Dilemma: What to Do When You Can’t See the Vision for Your Church Read More »
God doesn’t work on our calendar.
He created days, weeks, months, seasons and years. Those are real things.
People designed minutes, hours, decades and New Year’s Day on January 1. Those are made up things.
That’s why I don’t trust New Year’s resolutions or decade-long church plans.
What are the odds that God’s plans for my life, my church or my denomination will match our artificial calendar?
Why I Don’t Trust New Year’s Resolutions or 10-Year Plans Read More »
Have we been doing vision-casting wrong?
I think so. For maybe a generation or more.
Some of my worst disasters in ministry have come from trying to implement a vision, only to find out that no one else was buying into it. They might have even agreed that it was a good idea. For me. But it wasn’t theirs.
So they didn’t get behind it.
And no, I do not believe the alternative is to do a better job at convincing the group of your vision. If the church doesn’t get behind the pastor’s vision, maybe the pastor’s vision for them isn’t God’s vision for them.
There’s a better way.
5 Problems With Top-Down Vision-Casting – And a New Testament Alternative Read More »
I wish there were more artists in the church.
No, not painters and sculptors. Actually, yes, those too.
Mostly I wish there were more church leaders who saw the art in their ministry.
Church leaders who put the same kind of passion and creativity into their calling that artists put into their craft.
A Prophetic Imagination
Instead of learning from artists, most of our church leadership teaching in the last forty years has taken its cue from managers, CEOs and salespeople.
Not that we can’t learn a lot from them. I know I have. Good management is certainly a big part of biblical leadership and stewardship.
We’ve been managing ourselves to death – or at least irrelevance – in much of the western church world.
But we’ve been managing ourselves to death – or at least irrelevance – in much of the western church world.
We need artists to bring in some vital elements that the church hasn’t had enough of for a long time.
Passion.
Beauty.
Joy.
Anger.
Even a bit of holy fear.
The church needs to be filled and led by people with a prophetic imagination.
Why The Church Needs Artists More than Managers Right Now Read More »
