Three Important Stats About Our Cultural Context

The end result of a church’s focus must not merely be a bigger or better church, but a transformed community. The end result of a church’s mission statement must not be the church itself, but a broader community impacted and changed. As we consider serving and impacting the world around us, it is wise to […]

Three Marks of a Healthy Culture

Peter Drucker famously said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” He was not diminishing strategy. He was simply recognizing the overwhelming influence culture has on people. It dominates everything else. It is constantly teaching, constantly showing people what is most important. By culture, I am referring to the shared values and beliefs that undergird all that […]

Balancing Love and Honesty as a Leader of Leaders

The following is a blog post by Ed Stetzer. Ed is the Executive Director of LifeWay Research and he blogs daily at Christianity Today. This blog post originally appeared on the LifeWay Church Leaders blog. People often say, “If you love someone you should just be honest with them.” While there is truth there, it is […]

Small Groups, Rebar, and Culture Blindness

The following post is by Michael Kelley. is an author, editor, and communicator whose works include Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal and Boring: Finding an Extraordinary God in an Ordinary Life. Born in Texas, Michael holds a Master of Divinity degree from Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Ala. Michael and his wife have three children and live in […]

Disciple-Making on Their Turf

The following post is by David Mathis. David is executive editor at Desiring God, pastor at Cities Church (Minneapolis), and adjunct professor for Bethlehem College & Seminary. He has edited several books, including Thinking. Loving. Doing., Finish the Mission, and Acting the Miracle, and is co-author of How to Stay Christian in Seminary. This post originally appeared at LifeWay […]

4 Tasks of a Senior Leader

My friend Steve Graves recently met with some of our leadership team and shared four tasks of a senior leader. I found his framework helpful and challenging, and in sharing it with you, I have added some of my own thoughts. So, here are the four tasks that every senior leader must be preoccupied with and […]

Lecrae, Jimmy Fallon, and Making Culture

I am no Jimmy Fallon, but last year I had the opportunity to interview Lecrae. I was honored to spend some time discussing faith, culture, and music with him. I respect Lecrae, his music, and his mission. Lecrae said that if his new album, Anomaly, hit #1 on iTunes, he would release a free bonus song. […]

How Not to Loathe the Culture You Are Leading

One of the dangers of a growing organization or ministry is the temptation to quickly bring people on to the team to meet the demands of the growth. Of course, there is nothing wrong with desiring to scale the team. As the organization grows, wise leaders expand the leadership base. The temptation is to take […]

Lecrae and Culture

Several months ago, I was honored to spend several moments discussing faith, culture, and music with Lecrae. I respect Lecrae, his music, and his mission. I am grateful for his commitment to the Lord, his understanding of the gospel (he insists it is the power of God and must not be viewed merely as a […]

Culture Trumps Everything

Martin Luther referred to the gospel as “this article.” He said, “Most necessary is that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.” Luther knew that we have this proclivity to wander from our foundation. Thus we must constantly and continually beat the gospel into our hearts […]