3 Huge Downsides to a Busy Church

Adrian Rogers was perhaps the first preacher to coin the phrase, “If Satan can’t make you bad, he will make you busy,” but many others have echoed the pithy statement. And for good reason. Pastors have seen the numbing effect of busyness on the people they serve. Busyness can harden our hearts as we work […]

3 Reasons Church Complexity Hurts Engagement

Too many programs. Too many events. Too many announcements. Too many things on the calendar. For those who bemoan complexity, these are common statements. If you serve on a church staff you have surely heard or offered these statements. You have likely wrestled with the tension of wanting to meet a need in a way […]

3 Common Ways Churches Overcomplicate Their Calendars

A busy church calendar can keep people at church and away from the broader culture. Not only is mission thwarted but people also have a difficult time navigating what their next step at the church is. When there is a plethora of programs/events on the calendar, it is hard to know which ones are really […]

2 Pitfalls of Too Many Programs in Your Church

My mother recently reminded me that when I landed my first full-time job, I declared I was excited to have more money for two things: (1) athletic shoes and (2) more frequent haircuts. I like shoes, and I was pretty excited this summer to customize two pairs of converse Chuck Taylors—one for me and one […]

How to Gracefully Kill a Church Program

Last Friday I was privileged to speak at The NINES, an online leadership conference sponsored by Leadership Network. In this five-minute video I talked about how to gracefully kill a church program. After writing Simple Church several years ago, it is one of the questions I have been most frequently asked.