4 Common Fears and How to Fight Them

Psychologists make a distinction between healthy and unhealthy fear. Healthy fear helps us make wise decisions such as preparing for a test or wearing a seatbelt. Unhealthy fear can paralyze a leader from making decisions or cause someone to be untrusting of others. Below are the four common and unhealthy fears I have seen. I […]

When to Pull and When to Feed a Church Program (A Framework) 

When I was consulted by other church leaders, I was often asked to offer suggestions about what church programs they should eliminate. “Hey Eric, you wrote Simple Church, what should we get rid of?” I often frustrated leaders because I would answer, “This is your context, not mine. I don’t know. But you should evaluate […]

Escape Rooms and Jesus Promising a Way Out 

My daughter Evie loves escape rooms. She has designed escape rooms at our house for her friends. She has been to more than 20 of them. Whenever we are in a new place, she asks us to look one up and go to it. One time we went to an escape room in Sacramento and […]

10 Problems With Church Programming and 1 Perspective Shift

Here are ten observations from my church resourcing days that I think most church leaders would agree with about church programming—the number of programs, events, and activities a local church offers: 1. More activity does not mean more godliness. While preachers have long said “if the devil can’t get you to sin, he will just […]

3 Ways to Fight the Entitlement That Is Fighting Enjoyment

Research has shown that feeling entitled increases feelings of distress and disappointment—but you likely don’t need research to know that. You have experienced it. I have. There was a season when I was traveling for speaking/consulting engagements so frequently that I would be regularly upgraded to first class. Sadly, my heart came to expect the […]

Entitlement Is Fighting Against Enjoyment

Gratitude and entitlement cannot coexist.  Parents know this. There are two opposing phrases we often hear when raising kids. We love to hear one and bristle at the other: “Thank you,” and “It’s not fair.” Parents love to hear “Thank you” from a child because it shows the child realizes a gift has been received […]

A Discouraging Compliment to Receive After Preaching

One of the most discouraging compliments someone can give to me after I preach a message they loved is, “I am so glad you are preaching the gospel because you are preaching about __________ (insert a cultural issue).” The statement is typically delivered in a “it’s about time. I’m glad you finally got it together” […]

Research on Why Christians Should Be the Most Grateful People

Robert Emmons is a professor and psychologist at UC Davis who has led multiple research projects on gratitude. For example, he led one study in which people were placed in three groups and asked to write sentences based on their experiences each week. The first group wrote down what they were thankful for The second […]

The Work Behind Teaching on God’s View of Gender Dysphoria

When I first became a pastor, I never expected to teach a sermon on gender dysphoria. The term was not in my vocabulary and the subject was not on my radar. In all my seminary classes, it was never addressed, and we were never taught how to think or teach about the transgender movement. Because […]

God’s View of Gender Dysphoria and the Transgender Movement 

Imagine being a teenager who doesn’t feel at home in your own body. You never felt you met the typical gender stereotypes of guys playing with trucks and rough sports and girls dressing up and play with dolls. You aren’t happy, and you so badly want to be happy. Like all teenagers through all generations, […]