When Vision Is Not Enough
I once heard Rick Warren wisely say, “People respond to vision, not need.” His statement resonated deeply with me, and I’ve seen it to be true in every ministry setting where I’ve served. “We need more small group leaders” never works as well as “God is calling us to launch 20 more groups and we […]
Budgeting Blunders
There are some common budgeting blunders that plague many ministries, and these blunders are often associated with well-meaning individuals who unintentionally bring some bad budgeting practices to the table. Let me introduce you to Calculator Charlie, Sneaky Steve, and Sandbagging Sally. Calculator Charlie: Calculator Charlie appears to be really organized when he comes to the […]
Discipleship: More than Information
Many churches equate discipleship with knowledge. Churches who view discipleship as information transfer seek to stuff as much information about the Bible into as many people as quickly as they possibly can. I realize this sounds noble, but the essence of discipleship is transformational not informational. Jesus did not merely ask us to teach everything […]
Values, Culture, and Facebook
While a church’s doctrinal statement, strategy, and leadership structure are all important, the church culture trumps them all. Culture is the alpha male in the room. It dominates everything else. As leadership guru Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” He was not diminishing strategy, as Drucker wrote a lot about organizational strategy and […]
McDonald’s, Jonathan Edwards, and Holy Affections
When I was in elementary school, I craved McDonald’s. When my parents let me pick the meal for the night, McDonald’s was the choice. If you had told me that I could eat McDonald’s every day of my life, I would have thought you were describing heaven. I enjoyed Big Mac’s and number 3 combo […]
Anywhere but Nineveh
When the Lord called me into ministry, I told Him I would go anywhere He asked. When Kaye and I married and discussed where the Lord would possibly put us, we committed that we would go wherever He sent us. When we graduated seminary and were asked to fill out a form to indicate where […]
Bullets Before Cannonballs
The most helpful teaching metaphor I grabbed from Jim Collins’ newest book, Great by Choice, is the concept of “bullets before cannonballs.” Collins discovered that the most effective leaders and companies test new initiatives as “bullets” before over-investing, radically altering their strategy, or changing their offerings to customers. According to Collins, effective leaders explore incrementally […]
Two Different Tips
Two different tips from supposed wealthy individuals were in the news recently as servers from the restaurants snapped photos of the bills and posted them online. One turned out to be a hoax, however. First, the true story. Peyton Manning enjoyed dinner at the famous Angus Barn restaurant in Raleigh. His bill was $739.58, which […]