Word of Hope Blog
Read the latest thoughts from Ralph Moore, a veteran practitioner in disciple making and church multiplication.
A Workable Approach to Evangelism
Do you struggle to motivate your members toward evangelism? Is your “invite them to church” approach broken? You’re not alone. The program-based model is failing and never touched more than 30 percent of people still interested in Christianity. We need to equip and activate every Christ-follower as an everyday missionary. But…
Doing What You Though You Couldn’t
It’s cold in the California desert. A warm winter shirt served me well on my morning walk. Along the way, I bumped into an old friend—actually, it was a tree. It’s a plumeria tree typically found in the tropics. I’d seen it before, but it was a welcome surprise today. There are just…
Airport Adaptations
The new airport clubrooms are amazing. It seems that the COVID break helped them analyze how to better serve their customers. Having spent too many hours inhabiting these spaces, I’m glad for the renewal. Last week en route home from New York, I found myself in a super-confined space—and I enjoyed it. The…
What I Wish They Had Told Me Before I Got Here
Did you know that our education often fails to match our profession? Only about 46 percent of college graduates work in the field they learned in school. One study found that of those enrolling in a course of study, only about five percent will be in it two years after graduation. The false promise of…
Upending Your Operating System
You should read last week’s blog. It’s called “Why I Quit Pastoring in Hawaii.” An angry friend emailed, describing the article as “rude, hateful, arrogant, harsh, prideful & verges on stupidity.” I wouldn’t have thought that but to each his own. My deeper opinion might be even more upsetting if the blog was all my…
Why I Quit Pastoring
I’m not your pastor, and this is not a church. One Sunday in early 1984, I informed Hope Chapel Kaneohe Bay that I was no longer their pastor and that we were no longer a church. Their church was their microchurch. Their pastor was their microchurch pastor. Were a convention of churches. My job was…
Feeling Lonely when You Are Not Alone
It can be lonely at the top. You may be surrounded by people who adore you. Yet the pedestal where they put you is a lonely place. Church problems rest on the shoulders of leaders—further isolation. Even the news is enough to drive you to distraction. Every time you read of the church shrinking or…
9 Pastor’s Safeguards from Dangerous Friendships
As shepherds of Jesus’ flock, we sometimes overlook the need for a bit of self-protection. Some friends are better than others—some friendships are dangerous (aside from sexual temptations). Some are more pronounced in smaller churches, especially in newly planted congregations but all merit a look. Here’s the deal; there are people who long to…
Isolated In Your Family
Pastor’s families live in semi-isolation because congregations hold them on a pedestal. However, a larger problem is isolation of the pastor from their family. This is because our jobs are never ending, and we get so busy we forget our personal priorities. Many pastors leave ministry because of root problem of loneliness in their…
Isolated On a Pastoral Pedestal
Loneliness in leadership is never fun. It’s also less than necessary when it comes to living on a pedestal. Pastors are often surrounded by people who elevate them as super Christians. We’re already called by God to live to a higher standard so it’s no fun being judged by one that is entirely artificial.…