Word of Hope Blog
Read the latest thoughts from Ralph Moore, a veteran practitioner in disciple making and church multiplication.
Pastors Combatting Feelings of Loneliness and Isolation
Pastors are leaving vocational ministry at an alarming rate. Coupled with slow church planting, the problem threatens the church’s existence. The pandemic accelerated the pain, but this is systemic and ongoing. As we wonder what can be done, I want to spend a few weeks exploring possible solutions on this website. This Is…
Evangelism: We can do better…
A recent trip to Orlando found me in my favorite restaurant—the one with the golden arches. While stuffing my face with a Sausage McMuffin, I hummed to the piped-in music. Connecting the sounds with the auditorium where I spoke the day before took a while. The “Aha, these people are bringing Jesus into McDonalds” soon…
Security Guard, Hoarder or Equipper?
Would you consider yourself a security guard, a hoarder or an equipper? You can describe most church leaders in one of these terms. We each feel the call to shepherd the flock God assigned us, but we do that in unique ways. Much depends on our spiritual gifts, our community and even the availability of…
Root Culture of Communication
A friend recently revealed the “secret sauce” of Hope Chapels. He told me, “this is something you never teach, but I learned it from you anyway.” So much for making disciples… He said the secret sauce is that we established a root culture of communication at every level in our movement. He discovered it in…
Why We Should All Celebrate the Juneteenth Holiday
Juneteenth celebrations began in churches and rightly so. The holiday began one year after the Emancipation Proclamation reached Texas. The Confederate army had surrendered months earlier but it was on June 19, 1865 that Union General Robert Granger read the liberating document in the streets of Texas. A year later the commemoration began. Jesus came…
After-action Appraisal of Church Planter’s Network Meeting
Join my son, Carl and myself for a short after-event rundown of our attempt to kick-start more church multiplication in Hawaii. The impetus to plant churches has significantly slowed since I lived in the state. We hosted a meeting to gather and network those still focused on church multiplication. Many of those who attended lead…
Revitalizing Church Multiplication in Hawaii
Thirty-nine years ago, Aaron Suzuki and I moved our families to Hawaii from Southern California. We had a strong church behind us yet had plans to start an automotive repair service as a bivocational fallback. We didn’t anticipate strong spiritual hunger among the people we would meet. I would now admit that our years there…
Rapid Microchurch Multiplication in Kenya from Hawaii via WhatsApp
Randall Ishida has stage four cancer. He’s on some kind of wonder drugs that actually might save his life. However, someone spread a social media rumor that he died. A Facebook “friend” connected with him to ask why Randall had spread such a rumor if he was still alive and hanging around. The conversation turned…
Is Jesus A Liar, or Are We Not Seeing Things as They Are?
John 15 has a hold on me. I can’t seem to get out of the chapter and the one before it. I’ve been talking with several hurting friends. They’ve been pruned, and they don’t appreciate it. They’re fussed up because things aren’t going to plan. Perhaps they (and we) don’t get that pruning is an honor…
A Pruning or Just a Mess?
You could call this article “Where have all the people gone?” Or “Why are so many pastors leaving?” Churches are smaller, and not everyone who left is home watching Andy Stanley on YouTube. Most of those who are gone are just that—gone! Truth is, churches and leaders are a smaller band on the…