Burying a Program
Since writing Simple Church with my boss Thom Rainer, a common question has been, “How can we eliminate a program or an event?” Those who ask the question often know that a program on their church calendar accomplishes very little for the Kingdom and is not aligned to the mission of their church. But they […]
When Your Church Needs New Wineskins
The great folks at The Gospel Coalition recently asked me to write a few articles on church staffing. My latest article is below. One day a group of people approached Jesus, confused that his disciples were not fasting. After all, John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees were fasting. Why were Jesus’ disciples not […]
Church Finances 101: Strategic Budgeting
Often budgeting can digress into a time of mindless regurgitation of last year’s budgeted amount, when a pastor/director simply slides the amount in each line item over to a new budget or does some slight rearranging. However, it instead can be a time for robust discussion around mission and strategy. After all, your budget is […]
Church Finances 101
We are in budgeting season at LifeWay for our next fiscal year, which begins in October. This is my first time going through the budgeting process at LifeWay. And while there are more zeros involved, I am finding many of the same principles I learned in church ministry to be true in this environment. I […]
Choices and Unsatisfied Souls
Barry Schwartz is a psychologist and a compelling speaker. In his book The Paradox of Choice, he draws from research that for most people “more” really is “less”. He reasons that the more choices someone has, the more the person is set up for unmet expectations and regret. For example, imagine that you take your […]
Culture and Your Church
A church’s philosophy of mission is greatly influenced by how she views the culture around her. How a church views the culture around her will deeply impact how she responds to the community in which she is placed. For centuries, Christians have debated what our response to the world around us should be. During the […]
The Bottom-Line of Church Ministry
The reason Jesus left His disciples on the planet was to make other disciples. The fundamental reason your church exists is to make disciples of Jesus. To the church at Colossae, the apostle Paul wrote a defining statement about his ministry to the church. “I have become its (the church’s) servant, according to God’s administration […]
Leo Tolstoy: Youth Group President?
In many student ministries, Leo Tolstoy would be viewed as a hero, a model for moral discipline and Christian virtue. Tolstoy was a famous Russian philosopher and author in the mid-1800s, best known for his novel War and Peace. He pursued moralistic perfection in his faith, a task that many viewed as noble. He set […]
Ministry Calling: What, Who, and Where
Through my years in ministry, I have noticed people describe their commitment or calling to a specific place of ministry differently. Some speak of a calling to a specific task or role, such as “I am called to preach” or “I am called to work with teenagers.” These are the “what” leaders who focus on “what” […]
Ambidextrous Ministry
An article entitled “The Ambidextrous Organization” from Harvard Business Review has really resonated with me as a leader in a large traditional organization. “Ambidextrous,” in this case, means exactly what you would think it means: managing new initiatives and established ones at the same time. While reading, I noted many implications for ministry leaders in […]