Four Common Ministry Errors That Leaders Make

You have likely observed two common and opposite errors in relation to physical fitness and health—neglect or obsession. Neglect often looks like minimal exercise, eating to relieve stress, and ignoring the neglect you know is occurring. Obsession often looks like being unable to enjoy a meal because you are so consumed with counting the macros, […]

6 Thoughts for Worship Leaders on Theology and Our Weekend Gatherings

Our Lead Worship Pastor, DK (Daniel Kim), asked me to speak to all our worship leaders from all our congregations about some theological convictions that I hope inform our weekend worship gatherings. This is not an exhaustive list. Nor do I think it is an inerrant list! But I do love serving alongside others who […]

A Tool I Wish I Had as Simple Church Was Released 

Nearly 18 years ago, Thom Rainer and I wrote Simple Church, a research-based book that showed how thriving churches were much more likely to be deeply committed to a strategic process for discipling people than non-thriving churches. It was the non-thriving churches that offered lots of programs and were bloated by an abundance of activity. […]

An Annual Teaching/Preaching Calendar: How We Think About It

I recently wrote about the why of advanced sermon planning, and a question that inevitably emerges is, “How do you decide what to teach?” Or, “When you are planning a teaching calendar, how do you think about different approaches to teaching?” Three big thoughts guide how I think about a teaching/preaching calendar: Preaching and teaching […]

Why and How I Know What I Am Preaching 12 Months From Now

According to the teaching calendar, one year from now I will be preaching a message on wisdom and how we use our tongues from James 3:1-18 in a teaching series walking through the book of James. Yes, I know what I will be preaching a year from now. Here is why advanced sermon planning works […]

Who Has the “A?”—A Framework About Roles and Responsibilities

Our executive pastor introduced the “ARCI” framework to me and has operationalized it within our team—so much so that the question “Who has the A?” is a common one among leaders I serve alongside. What I Appreciate About the Framework It helps solve a major problem—the lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities when leaders […]

A Framework for Ministry Leaders: Thinking Flock and Sheep

Larry Osborne has commented about ministry leaders, and I am paraphrasing, that some lean towards being a “flock leader” and some lean towards being a “sheep leader.” Meaning that some leaders, in their gifting, are more prone to think broadly about the overall ministry (the flock), while others are more prone to think about individual […]

A Tool for Framing and Executing Vision

Leaders carry the double burden of providing clear vision for the organization or ministry and then ensuring the plans to accomplish that vision are executed. Leadership is daunting because leaders must simultaneously cast a compelling vision for the future and enable execution today. These two frameworks placed alongside one another have helped me and teams […]

The Power of Thinking the Same Way

The Apostle Paul challenged the church in Philippi to “make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (Philippians 2:2). Paul was writing to a diverse group of people as the church in Philippi was filled with Jews and Gentiles, men and women, young […]

Position Papers: Positions We Pastor From, Not Pastoring

When I first started writing articles for a blog, it was because my boss (the CEO of Lifeway) encouraged me to use the blog as a way to encourage church leaders—as that was part of my role at Lifeway. Since becoming the Senior Pastor of Mariners Church five years ago, I realize that sometimes people […]