9|11
I was shaving. Dallas, Texas. Tuesday. the 11th of September. 2001. Running a bit late for work I turned on the news as I was getting ready. Both towers were in flames. There was speculation about other targets, buildings, fires, and planes. They kept replaying the footage of the ‘explosions’ at the Towers. At moments [...]
Megachurch Myths
I’ve worked in four churches of varying sizes (500+, 1200+, 1500+, and 20000+) and I’ve been around a lot of churches of similar size. To me the megachurch discussion is basically a moot point. The first church service ever was of megachurch proportions… and someone even counted! Read Acts 2 and see for yourself. But [...]
Innovations for Your Church
Is your church doing all of these? Which do you agree/disagree with? 1. Sing hymns. 2. Preach through a book of the Bible. 3. Talk about sin. 4. Celebrate the Lord’s Supper more frequently. 5. Have a Scripture reading in the service. 6. Transition creative content from popular commercials and other media to creating your [...]
Knowledge vs. Maturity
There is a tension between knowing too much and knowing too little. Can there be middle theological ground between knowledge and maturity? The following blog from Pastor Kevin DeYoung brilliantly tackles a problem that many Bible College and Seminary graduates face in their early ministry. If only maturity were as easily taught as doctrine… —————- [...]
Visitor Best Practices
How should your church treat visitors? Mentanna Campbell recently penned “An Open Letter to American Churches” in which she gives some thoughts: 1. A staffed welcome center 2. No cheesy gifts (including Starbucks cards) 3. Do talk to me. 4. A good website with clear instructions 5. No visitor’s card. Definitely some interesting thoughts for [...]
Search and Succession
Our church is currently going through a leadership transition. Today I stumbled across these wise words from Leadership Magazine (Fall 2005): “When King Charles II of Spain died in 1701 with no heir, the result was the War of Spanish Succession, which embroiled France, England, Italy, Austria, and the Netherlands in a conflict that lasted 13 [...]
Elaine's
Elaine Kaufman, the legendary owner of New York landmark Elaine’s restaurant, recently passed away. Dave Zinczenko, Editor-in-Chief of Men’s Health magazine and one of her most loyal supporters, offers some interesting thoughts… especially for those of us in ministry. “On the night of September 11th, after a day of confusion and sadness and loss, there [...]
When God Closes a Door
We usually misinterpret the sound of closed doors. It often comes on the heels of strong commitment to obedience, being filled with the spirit, going through a season of prayer often over weeks of time, followed by hard work, diligent effort, the counsel of others… and then, SLAM! That door shuts. And what makes it [...]
Staffing for the Future
Pastor and researcher Sam Rainer says it’s time to reconsider your church’s staff configuration and plan for the next decade. Here are a few of the new jobs he foresees: MULTICULTURAL DIRECTOR — Preschools will be minority white by 2021, with the rest of the nation to follow by 2042, and not only in big [...]
Aaron
Moses had a unique call to leadership. He was unsure of his ability to lead, had a serious speech problem, and avoided God’s call on multiple occasions. Keep reading the biblical account though, and you’ll find that he eventually became one of the most dynamic and effective leaders ever presented in the Biblical text. God [...]
The Light at the End
There are few moments in life that are truly transcendent. The day I placed a ring on her finger, the birth of my firstborn, perhaps one or two other memories. But there is one in particular that haunts me… a moment that I am unable to get out of my head. – – – – [...]
Paralyzed
Christmas Eve, my father-in-law’s life changed. A stroke nearly took his life, but God had other plans. The months that followed have brought about much improvement. Sometimes overnight; sometimes excruciatingly slow. And yet God was in the midst of the uncertainty. For uncertainty gave way to hope. Hope gave way to healing. And healing gave [...]
10 Leader Choices
Several years ago I had the opportunity to interview and perhaps go to work for Perry Noble, Senior Pastor at NewSpring Church in South Carolina, but came to Birmingham instead. I still follow Perry and have always been impressed with his insight into leadership. This week he posted a list of 10 choices a Pastor/Leader [...]
Why I'm Catholic
I have a confession to make: I’m not Catholic. In fact, for much of my life “Catholic” was a four-letter word. My childhood church thought heaven was going to be a small place because: (1) most other Baptists were going to hell. (2) All non-Baptist denominations were going to hell. (3) The Catholic church was hell. I was [...]
Calling All Saints
I grew up in a self-described “independent, fundamental, bible-believing, Baptist church.” You’ll notice that I capitalized Baptist and not bible. Oddly enough, I typed it that way before I’d even realized. Perhaps my heritage is more ingrained in me than I care to admit. I greatly appreciate the emphasis my home church placed on doctrine, [...]
Lutherans Go Gay
In a move that should surprise no one these days, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has voted to allow sexually active gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy. While this may sound like a ground-moving decision it is in reality only a minor shift from their previous stance of allowing gay [...]
Back to Church Sunday
September 13 is “National Back to Church Sunday”, proving once and for all the church itself is the church’s worst enemy. Only a step above the western-themed “Round Up Sunday” and more nebulous “Friend Day”, National Back to Church Sunday even has a terribly awful logo to go with it. Honestly, if I were currently [...]
Play me a song Mr. Pianoman
“So what is your vision for the future of the music ministry?” I looked up from my latte just in time to make eye contact. Too soon. He caught the glimmer in my eye and the slight smirk that had just betrayed my heretofore stoic facade. I’d been asked this question before… and he knew [...]
20th Grade
“I know how much education means to you and how awesome of an opportunity this is for you.” My friend could not have summed it better. Six years ago I left the hallowed halls of Dallas Seminary for the last time, not sure where the journey of life would take me or if I’d ever [...]
Dangerous Pursuit of Growth
Three years ago, Jack Trout wrote an article for Forbes that discussed the danger of making growth your mission. That desire for growth is at the heart of what can go wrong for many companies. Growth is the by-product of doing things right. But in itself, it is not a worthy goal. In fact, growth [...]
What if the Church Was Run Like the State of Illinois?
This week we heard the disappointing news of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevish’s arrest. Why was he arrested? For allegedly requesting payoffs for soon-to-be-President Obama’s vacated Senate-seat appointment. Which made me think… Boy, I’m sure glad America’s churches aren’t run like the state of Illinois. Seriously. Otherwise we’d have a ton of churches and pastors giving [...]
Cathedrals Make A Comeback
Lifeway Research recently discovered what many of us in the church world already knew: the unchurched prefer cathedrals to contemporary church design. By a nearly 2-to-1 ratio over any other option, unchurched Americans prefer churches that look more like a medieval cathedral than what most think of as a more contemporary church building. The survey found [...]
Magazine Pulled from Shelves
RALEIGH, N.C. — What was supposed to be an honor — a cover story about a group of successful women pastors — has instead been tarnished for a Durham non-denominational church leader. Sheryl Brady, the 48-year-old pastor of The River Church, was featured among four other women pastors on the cover of Gospel Today, a [...]
525,600 minutes
How do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights In cups of coffee In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In five hundred twenty-five thousand Six hundred minutes How do you measure A year in the life? A year ago we began planning and working towards a new online presence for [...]