I Should Have Just Gotten a Haircut Earlier
Brandon Hiltibidal is a good friend and a great brother in the Lord. We served together at Christ Fellowship in Miami, where I was executive pastor and he was one of our campus pastors. He first led worship and was a graphic artist. He is one of those uber-talented guys who can do multiple things […]
Why the Church Should Excel in Developing Leaders
In a local community, no other gathering of people or institution should outpace the church at forming and developing leaders because no other collection or gathering of people has a greater mission, a greater promise, and a greater reward. No greater mission Today, even as you read this, leaders are being recruited. There are meetings […]
3 Places the Word Must Be Central in Your Church
There is one spiritual discipline that increases engagement in every other spiritual discipline. In the research behind Transformational Discipleship, we discovered that when someone is engaged in studying the Bible, participation in every other spiritual discipline is positively impacted. While the other spiritual disciplines are important, engagement in one of these (from a research vantage point) […]
Fighting Blue Monday: Be Helpful, Not Great
The following post is by Doug Hankins. Doug Hankins is the Teaching Pastor at LifePoint Church, an American church historian, and an author of Dawson Trotman: In His Own Words. Doug holds a PhD From Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He blogs at doughankins.com. This post originally appeared on the LifeWay Church Leaders blog. Blue Monday. If […]
Churches and Cruises to Nowhere
Carnival Cruise Lines offers cruises to nowhere out of Norfolk, Virginia. You pay for a ticket, pack your bags, board a boat, and cruise to nowhere. You live on a boat for a few days—a boat that is going nowhere. In fact, here is a screen shot of the publicized itinerary for an upcoming cruise. […]
4 Ways to Lead through Spiritual Spats
The following is by Joshua Crutchfield. Joshua Crutchfield is Pastor of First Baptist Church Trenton, Texas. He is a two-time graduate of Criswell College and a Ph.D. student at Dallas Theological Seminary. Follow him on Twitter. Ten years ago, I was called to pastor my first church. At the ripe old age of twenty, and with […]
2 Ways to Help a Church Embrace Her Fragility
As I shared recently, even healthy churches are more fragile than we often realize. The fragility of a local church is intentional because God does not need any of us, or a collection of any of us, to accomplish His purposes. In His grace, He invites us to join Him—but He does not need us. […]
5 Thoughts on Unity and Uniformity
1. There is a danger in confusing uniformity and unity. Uniformity offers a pseudo-unity. After all, it is possible to build something (even a ministry) on uniformity and call it unity, when in reality it is not unity at all. A church with uniformity gathers people from the same socio-economic strata, the same cultural background, […]
A Constant Struggle in a Growing Church
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges leaders in growing churches face is the sense of failing to meet expectations, particularly of some who were in the church when the church was not as large as she currently is. Here are a couple of examples from recent conversations with church leaders: Example A: Some members of […]
Fragility of a Church; Strength of the Church
Churches are more fragile than we often realize. Leaders stumble and struggle. Pastors get sick. Natural disasters strike. Relationships go awry. Communities rapidly change. Local church fragility is not limited to struggling churches. Even healthy churches are fragile. Even churches that are built on the Word and not a personality or program are more delicate […]