Leading in Babylon or Leading in Israel?
Kaye and I were once at a movie theater, early in our marriage, in Miami. There was a box of popcorn on the row in which we were seated, with more than half the box still filled with buttered popcorn. I viewed the box as trash, as the remnants of a thoughtless moviegoer from the […]
3 Reasons Kids Ministries and Youth Ministries Can Drift from Jesus
Several years ago, I wrote a book with my good friends Matt Chandler and Josh Patterson about Jesus being the center of a local church. We called the book Creature of the Word, the title coming from an old Martin Luther quote where he taught that that when the gospel is rightly declared and applied […]
How to Humble Someone on Your Team (and Yourself Too)
How does a leader help an arrogant team member learn humility? How can a leader help someone on the team walk in humility rather than pride? It is a common leadership question because the leader knows that others don’t enjoy working alongside arrogance and that pride and hubris corrode trust. In his book, Leadership Strategy […]
Our Fragility and the Church’s Antifragility
In recent days there has been more conversations about “the greatest threat to the Church.” From people concerned about loss of religious liberty to those bemoaning a philosophical or theological position, the statement is seemingly used with ever-increasing frequency. While there could always be threats to how churches currently gather or to even what a […]
Sermon Prep: Why Do You Spend So Much Time on It?
Senior pastors invest varying amounts of time in sermon preparation. I have friends who spend 25 hours a week on a sermon and friends who spend 8-10 hours a week on sermons. The amount of time in sermon prep can vary based on the experience of the pastor (those with more experience have reservoirs of […]
Televised Sports, Church Gatherings, and some Good News
College and professional sports completely shut down in March of 2020 and people, including me, believed when televised sports returned that people would long to watch again – perhaps as an escape from reality or from a hunger to feel connected with other fans. To the joy of sports fans, ESPN released the Michael Jordan […]
3 Reasons We Should Help Teenagers Serve in Their Church
I spoke last night to our high school students at our high school outside gathering before the students break into life groups (I lead a group of tenth grade guys). I always enjoy speaking to teenagers, especially the ones I am honored to pastor. I spoke about the joy of serving others and challenged our […]
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 […]
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 […]