Research Reveals Realities of Being a Pastor’s Spouse
Halloween is not the only national day in October… October 7th is National Frappe Day (as in the drink). October 8th is National Clergy Appreciation Day. October 9th is National Moldy Cheese Day. October 10th is National Handbag Day. October 11th is National Sausage Pizza Day. To some people, clergy appreciation day sounds like it […]
Menus Create Church Consumers
For years church leaders have lamented church consumers, and rightly so. Church consumers treat their local churches like a country club; they have paid their fees and deserve a certain level of service in return. They threaten to join another club if things are not to their liking. Church consumers are not motivated by the […]
What Kind of Dog Are You? [Thoughts from Shoe Dog for Ministry Leaders]
I just finished reading Shoe Dog, the memoir from Phil Knight, the creator of Nike. While the title is catchy, you don’t learn what a “shoe dog” is until page 186 when Knight describes them: “People who devoted themselves wholly to the making, selling, buying, or designing of shoes. Lifers used this phrase cheerfully to […]
Choosing the Time of Your Next Worship Service
For years churches have moved to multiple worship services instead of building bigger buildings, which is a wise use of the facility the Lord has provided to the church. When adding a second service, the choice is fairly simple. While the times may vary from context to context, two services “back to back” make it […]
3 Unhealthy Reasons Pastors Talk to Search Teams
Ok, here is a sad secret I have witnessed in nearly 25 years of ministry leadership. I have seen it numerous times, have never written on it, but am doing so now because it is unhealthy, causes confusion, and wastes a lot of time among God’s people. Some pastors play games with pastor search teams. […]
4 Lessons from Studying Spurgeon
While I have not studied Charles Spurgeon as extensively as others, recently spending time in Spurgeon’s old stomping grounds led me to four thoughts: 1. God uses the nameless and ordinary. In 1850, a young, rough, and non-believing Charles Spurgeon walked into a Methodist church with questions about the Christian faith. On that Sunday there […]
5 Reasons We Struggle to Rest
July is often a time many ministry leaders rest. For years it has been a time when I have taken some extra time to slow down, read more, vacation with my girls, and not go to the office as much. Whether you rest in July or not, you do need to rest. Rest is not […]
2 Big Reminders from 2 Weeks with Lots of Kids
This summer approximately 140,000 kids and students will attend one of our student or kids camps or mission trips. We hire 1,000 amazing summer staff who run the events, invest in kids and students, and work extremely hard to serve the kids and student ministries well. Each summer I speak at one of our camps, […]
3 Reasons Kids Ministry Is Important
The last two weeks have provided great reminders to me about why kids ministry is so important. I served as camp pastor at CentriKid camps for a week. The whole family came and we had a great time. The kids participated in Bible studies, recreation, track times based on their interests, and morning and evening […]
Are You Thinking of Hiring This Guy, Jimmy?
I was recently in a large meeting with my friend Jimmy Scroggins, pastor of Family Church in West Palm Beach, and we watched a video of a local church student ministry leader who was speaking both passionately and strategically about discipleship. I saw Jimmy take out his phone and start to type notes, so…. Me: […]