8 Principles for Church Leaders Around Worship Service Times
A series of questions I often receive from other church leaders centers on how to choose the number of worship services a church offers and the days and times for those worship services. Those questions are massively important, as church leaders are deciding when they will gather God’s people for worship, community, and to study […]
What Happened to Your Sense of Thankfulness?
We know biblically and experientially that there is a deep connection between our gratitude and our joy. The more grateful we are, the more joyful we are. The apostle Paul makes the connection: Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, emphasis […]
The Proverbs 31 Woman AND the Proverbs 31 Man
The cliché “love at first sight” emphasizes, well, sight. External beauty. This cliché can hurt those who are single and those who are married, encouraging a single person to prioritize how someone looks and minimizing the more important foundations of a relationship for those who are married. Lots of people have encouraged creating “the list” […]
The Kindness of Preaching Culturally Offensive Messages
I recently had a conversation with Dr. David Allen on his podcast, Preaching Coach, about sermon preparation for messages that are considered offensive or counter-cultural on topics like sexuality, gender, masculinity, hell, the exclusivity of Christ, and more. Dr. Allen has been very helpful to me both personally and pastorally as a coach to me. […]
Restless Leaders and Winning by Losing
Leaders are restless by nature. A common experience is we set a goal, see the goal realized, and struggle to celebrate because we are already focused on the next goal. Or in the midst of a major “win,” we notice all the areas for improvement. The longer we lead, the more we can become disappointed […]
What We Can Learn From Arranged Marriages
Here are two scenes of two twenty-five-year-old young men. Scene one: A 25-year-old sits alone in his apartment, swiping through dating profiles on the phone. At it for an hour. The faces blur together. Split-second decisions are made based on photos and a few lines of bio. No one else is involved. No one else […]
A New Devotional for Teenagers That I Wrote With My Daughter
Eden, my oldest daughter, is now in her senior year of high school. She just turned eighteen years old! For years, especially during the early teenage years, helping her see the amazing identity she has already received from Christ was a huge priority for Kaye and me. We believe that if our daughters embrace what […]
A Significant Action for a Ministry to Move From Addition to Multiplication
Luke gives us two powerful progress reports in the early Church. “Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their […]
3 Ways to Spot the Difference Between Good and Bad Therapy
Sigmund Freud, in his “Question of Lay Analysis,” speaks of the power a therapist has over you, even more than a pastor or priest, because of the one-on-one nature of the relationship. The preaching you listen to matters, the friends you run with matter, and so does the counseling you seek. We must be wise […]
When Therapy Culture Is Damaging
When I was pastoring in Miami, God burdened me for people struggling with anxiety and depression and for couples who wanted help in their marriages or parenting but didn’t know where to turn. I recruited the head of the psychology department at a Christian university, and together we launched a counseling center. This was nearly […]