Leadership Archives - Page 4 of 7

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

Just got off a Zoom chat with a church planting pastor. He’s facing opportunities (and hazards) he never dreamt of, even a year ago. The twin culture disruptors of COVID-19 and the move toward social justice for African Americans have changed his life, dramatically. Actually, they’re changing life for us all. These are hundred-year events.…

Disciplemaking, Church Multiplication and the Wisdom of Jethro

Church planter? Disciplemaker? COVID-19 pastor? All three have much to learn from an ancient multiplication leader/driver. We tend to romanticize modernity. This social evolution paradigm mistakenly confuses technical developments with elements of civilization and social constructs. Sure, democracy as we know it is relatively new, but some things never change (Solomon said that, I think).…

Prejudice and Redemption — Guest Blog: Greg Wiens

I am intrigued this week as my inbox has swelled with emails from every organization that has me on their distribution list. Each condemns racism and vows to evaluate their practices to ensure racism has no presence in their organization. I am intrigued not because I doubt their sincerity, but because much of this strategy…

Glory, or Not, In the New Normal

Abraham was blessed to be a blessing. Us too! The complete breakdown in ancient Israel was their forgetting about blessing the nations in Abraham. Too often, much of our “walk” with God shows up as an inward focused spirituality. If my spiritual life is anything less than a calling it is less than spiritual. I…

Ranting in a Pandemic

First, a short apology. This is going to be a short rant. Hope it doesn’t offend anyone, but I think we need to address church leadership during times of crisis. Some of what I see in the news deserves a rant. Let’s start with some good news. Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced the release of…

Corona Virus Fears–Pastors Must Show That You Care

Note: This is adapted (shortened) from an article on a business site. The advice is good for pastors in a time of crisis. The short-term needs of maintaining a church or similar organization must take a back seat to the well-being of our people. If their perception of our care includes cancelling services, or whatever…

Leading Significant Churches in Smaller Places

This week’s blog is a stump for my podcast interview with Jim Graff. Jim is a new friend. A former missionary, he set out to lead a large church that could support missions in a big way–however, God had a detour in mind. After his stint as a missionary, Jim led a small congregation, in…

Think Small, Think Again!

I’ve mostly pastored large churches in suburban neighborhoods. However, my last church plant was in an urban area and the congregation remained under 300 people during my tenure. Frankly, that church was the most fun to pastor. In both earlier plants, we grew very quickly so I never experienced the life of a pastor in…

Church Planting vs Evangelism

Had an interesting conversation, yesterday, about church planting and evangelism. A strong financial supporter of my Mission Hope ministry overseas challenged me to include evangelism in the things I write. In my mind, I always do. However, he made a valid point. I assume that church planting is all about evangelism, but that isn’t necessarily…

Equipping for Growth and Multiplication

Every wonder why the gospel grows so fast in developing nations? I think it is because its presented in simpler terms. And this has implications for the church in America. I’ve planted three churches, each in a relatively sophisticated culture. But it is simple, colorful, teaching that seems to bring the most change to human…