The question I’ve been wrestling with this past week is a simple one: how can a white, suburban church plant a multi-cultural church in inner-city Des Moines? In many ways, I think it is safe to say that we don’t know what we don’t know. In many ways, this will require a completely different paradigm.
Why Some Preachers Get Better and Others Don’t
Understanding God’s calling on your life is a difficult thing. I’ve heard the story told several times during my career of men who believed they were following God’s calling only to realize years later that they had been wrong. Preaching is one of those double-edged swords that can either confirm for a man God’s calling or help him understand that …
5 Causes of Church Member Burnout
These are all valid reasons, but they seem to reflect church ministry 15 to 20 years ago, and point to a small church rather than a large church. In a larger church setting, especially one located in suburban America, I would argue that families are simply involved in too much activity.
The Two Time Slot Rule
As we get ready to launch our next small group year, I’m also confronted with the reality that many people are too busy to think. We live in a multi-tasking world, where it’s easy for families to run in multiple directions. Juggling commitments is an unfortunate reality for most modern families. Larry Osborne, the author of Sticky Church, faced the …
The Secret to Staying Long Term in a Church
I read the following over the weekend in The New Guidebook for Pastors by Max Brunson and James W. Bryant: The secret to staying where you are is twofold. First, just say no. If a church asks for your Résumé, just say no. If God really wants you at that church, they will come back to you. When pastors send …
When Church Attendance Becomes An Idol
I have a troubled past when it comes to counting people who attend your church. One of my early memories as a new staff member in a church is hearing the double-edged statement, “If numbers didn’t matter to God, He wouldn’t have written a book on it.” David’s Problem with Numbers Consider for a moment this illustration from 1 Chronicles …
Are You A Pastor/Staff Centered Church or Volunteer Centered Church?
A church is one of the great volunteer-based organizations in the world. Each week, millions of people serve in a wide variety of positions within their local church. As a church grows in size, however, the reliance on volunteers can become less obvious. Much of this has to do with the complexity of scale. The Complexity of Scale If a …
The Future of Seminary Education
In mid-January, I had the privilege of attending the Midwest Leadership Conference in Springfield, IL. The workshops were deep in content and presented by key influencers in their field of expertise. Below are notes from two workshops I attended with Dr. Jason Allen, President of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. Theological Education in the 21st Century Key Takeaways: Main concern for institutions of higher …