11 Ways I Am Minimizing the Downside of Using Social Media
When making a choice between two possibilities, it is wise to evaluate the risk and the reward, the upside and the downside of each possible direction. Thus, when you decide you can work hard to minimize the downsides of your decision because you made the decision with awareness of the potential pitfalls of the decision. […]
Compelling Quotes From “Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now”
Several years ago, Jean Twenge released a research-based book called iGen and her findings on what smart phones have done and are doing to children and adolescents grabbed my attention. After discussing the book for several months, and even interviewing Jean Twenge on a podcast, Kaye and I decided together that our daughters would not […]
Without Credibility It Is Impossible to Lead
A few weeks ago, my good friends Kevin Peck and Josh Patterson asked me to lead a session for a group of ministry leaders they are coaching. During the coaching session, we spent some time talking about the importance of credibility in leadership. Years ago, in the classic work The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner […]
A Tale of Two Pandemics (And Being Compassionate About Both)
The definition of a pandemic, according to the dictionary, is a “disease that occurs over a wide geographic area.” CoVid clearly meets that definition as the virus has spread across the globe, and over 200,000 people in the US have died. And as we all have recognized, CoVid is not the only struggle that people […]
Church Is Not a Product to Evaluate; It Is a Community to Participate In
When we moved our worship services exclusively online early in the pandemic, I did not know what to do with myself during the weekend services. I had already preached the message to a camera, so I found Saturday nights and Sunday mornings a bit torturous – wondering if I should have said something differently, if […]
5 Thoughts from Gathering in the Middle of a Pandemic
The church I serve gathered again last weekend for large gatherings – outside with chairs set up in a physically distanced format. It has been a progression for us. In June we began gathering in homes. In July we launched smaller gatherings in neighborhoods throughout Orange County. In August we started using our largest campus […]
The Deadly Sin I Was Least Aware Of
I recently finished a teaching series on the seven deadly sins, and I saved the best for last. Or so I thought. Compared to the other sins, I thought a message on sloth would be the most fun to prepare because surely the Lord would not need to deal with me on the topic. Sermon […]
Church is Essential. Your Form of Church is Not.
Church is absolutely essential for the follower of Jesus. When Christ called us into relationship with Himself, He also called us into community with others. A Christian not committed to Church is an oxymoron and a confounding contradiction. Christians are commanded to “not neglect gathering together as some are in the habit of doing but […]
3 Reasons Ministry Leaders Will Leave “Vocational Ministry” During the Pandemic
In the last month I have been on several zoom calls with pastors who I am in “learning communities” with and the subject of pastoral turnover has been surfaced. Early stats are being thrown out as to the number of ministry leaders (not just senior pastors) who will leave vocational ministry during this pandemic and […]
6 Surprises About Church Gathering Again
Our church was not the first in our county (and definitely not in the country) to start holding worship gatherings again, and I am thankful for those who began worship gatherings before us as we were able to learn some lessons from them. But as we have begun outdoor gatherings, I am getting emails and […]