Pastor, Church Communications Guy, Church Website Designer & Blogger
I've heard plenty of sermons about how our evangelistic ineffectiveness is directly attributable to our lack of love for lost people. Usually somewhere in those sermons is the phrase, "We just don't care enough." While I'm sure that's true to one degree or another at any given time, I have a different …
Keep Reading
Ever watched a really good idea crash and burn? Me too.
Here's some brutal honesty... entire movements have gone down in flames because of boneheaded approaches to good ideas. This isn't to say we can't afford to make mistakes. In fact, the only way to know we're taking risks is to make mistakes. We can't …
Keep Reading
Being loud doesn't make you a leader. Neither does being popular. Leadership is influence, and influence means taking people in a direction they wouldn't otherwise be going - hopefully forward. Ambition isn't enough to qualify you to lead. There is more to the equation.
You need to be led before you can …
Keep Reading
Ministry is a marathon. This is true for church leaders, for volunteers, and for the church body itself. When we drive and push people to sprint all the time, burnout is inevitable. You can grow a large church by constantly creating mountain peak experiences and pushing for the top. But you will create …
Keep Reading
In the Bourne series, the assassins (who are the central characters) are referred to by their controlling agency merely as "assets." Sometimes I fear that within Christian ministry, we fall into the terrible habit of treating people as assets - instruments to help us get ministry done successfully rather than …
Keep Reading
What is success? Most people define it in one of three ways:
How many possessions do you own?
How much power do you wield over others?
How much prestige do you have among peers?
American Christians tend to blend right in. We even apply these standards to churches and church leaders. Which church has …
Keep Reading
Leadership is a hot topic with plenty of aspiring and hopeful people clamoring for success in its arena. But the reality is that it's easier NOT to lead.
When we aspire to leadership, we envision the good stuff - the people who will look to us for direction, the success of our organization, and the accolades …
Keep Reading
I'm teaming up with Danny Kirk, who coaches me on a regular basis, to offer a three-day coaching workshop in northwest Arkansas. What in the world is that?
The Coaching Workshop
Coaching is the discipline of using relational influence, powerful questions, and encouragement to cause an individual or team …
Keep Reading
Some churches raise the bar when it comes to recruiting small group leaders. You need to be a member for X amount of time, well versed in the church's doctrinal statement, agree to a lifestyle covenant, etc. The more qualified the leader, the stronger the group will be... or so goes conventional wisdom. But is …
Keep Reading
Traditional small group ministry might seem like a leap ahead of the lecture-based classroom in terms of relationship-building, but the rate of change in our surrounding culture still far outpaces the rate of change within the church. Small group ministry is changing. Again. And Rick Howerton, one of the few …
Keep Reading
I'm madly in love with Angie Cox and my two kids. And I'm loved and forgiven by an infinitely gracious God! I'm a Pastor, Church Planter, Editor, and Community Facilitator.
