Last Monday was national first responder day. The church where I serve as pastor devoted time in the weekend services, the Saturday and Sunday before, to honor first responders and pray for them and their families. The moment in the worship service was a weighty one as we reflected on the sacrifice and commitment of…
Pastors
3 Warning Signs You Could Love Your Title More Than Your Task
In his famous work, City of God, Augustine penned this challenge: No one can be a good bishop if he loves his title and not his task. It is entirely possible for a ministry leader to love title more than task. Because we can make idols of anything, we can certainly make our titles the…
One Thing We Know For Sure Is God’s Will for You…
Pastors are often asked questions about God’s will for a particular decision someone is facing. “How do I know which job is God’s will for me?” Or which relationship? Or which city to live in? Often I do not know the answer to a question about God’s will in a specific situation, but I can…
5 Reasons Not to Give Announcements in Worship Service
Several years ago my former boss and wise sage, Thom Rainer, made the observation that large churches (700 and up in average worship attendance) are highly unlikely to have announcements as a part of the worship service. Thom always has a keen sense of what is happening in large number of churches, so while many…
4 Advantages of Advanced Planning for Sermons/Teaching Series
When I served as an executive and teaching pastor in Miami, I learned the benefit of planning sermons and teaching series months ahead. I don’t mean the entire sermon completely prepared, but a specific direction for a teaching series and a general direction for each sermon within the series. The advanced planning was not only…
Pastors, Conferences, and Coaching Networks and What I Look for in One
Pastors get hit up with lots of promos for conferences. We get email invites in our inbox and full color brochures to our office. The response of a pastor to these promos falls somewhere on a spectrum. One on end is the pastor who goes to tons of conferences. The conference junkie pastor lives for…
Church Leaders: Ministry Is From God, But It Is Not God
When I first began serving in local church ministry, a pastor told me that “church is a great place to hide out and a great place to burn out.” He further explained that ministry can attract workaholics, those who live off affirmation from others for the work they do. And that ministry can also attract…
4 Reasons Megachurch Pastors Are Susceptible to Fall
There has been, in recent years, a growing concern about the number of moral failings and integrity lapses in megachurch pastors (churches with attendance north of 2000 people a week). Words like “epidemic” have been used, as the number of leaders disqualifying themselves has felt extremely high. I have been asked if a megachurch pastor…
Your Marriage Is Your Most Important Ministry
Last week Kaye and I celebrated 22 years of marriage. Over dinner we talked about the journey the Lord has taken us on together, what we enjoy about each other, and how our marriage has made each of us better. Though our marriage is not perfect, it is healthy and I am so grateful for…
Links for Leaders 6/8/18
3 Weak Phrases You Should Drop From Your Leadership—Scott Cochrane Here’s the point. When you’re a leader, you know that people listen to your every word. So choose your words carefully. And pay as much attention to the words and phrases you don’t say, as you do to the words you do say. Take Care…