I don’t know if you remember King Theoden who appears in the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. He states, “I will not risk open war.” Aragorn (who some say represents Jesus in the series) responds “Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not.” A little like Theoden, many of…

Many people think that discipleship is about church multiplication, and despite discipleship beginning to take its place at the heart of the church planting and multiplication discussion, we must not lose sight of the fact that discipleship is essentially about character. When Jesus called the disciples he made to make disciples themselves, it was to…

What is the biggest challenge you face? Building a cohesive team? Communicating a clear vision? Developing strategy to realize that vision? Is it securing funding? Recruiting volunteers and staff members? Maybe you have small children and you’re trying to find some space for yourself outside their many needs. Perhaps aging parents demand your time and…

In my last blog post, Engaging the Curious: Journeying Together to Jesus, I shared about the simple tool we use to help identify individuals engaging with our church plant who are spiritually curious. I also introduced the book/tool that we use to engage those individuals with the Gospel-Curious?: Everything you need to make an informed…

I thought financial issues would be the first cause for pastors leaving the ministry. But I was wrong! Isolation and loneliness account for the most significant number of pastors quitting their jobs-across all church sizes and flavors. And we’re not alone with our feelings. According to his second letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul was…

Almost every leader I know will tell you that among the first leadership books they ever read was Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. For most, the book was recommended to them right after they led a project or engaged in an initiative that wasn’t effective. Sometimes they read it after a big…