I was quite surprised to read that, according to a recent Gallop poll, 87% of Americans say they believe in God. This is not to say that they are religious, much less churchgoers. They probably aren’t.
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One of the most common questions being asked by church leaders these days is, “When will all of our Sunday morning attendees come back?” Put another way, “When will all of our scattered sheep return to the fold?”
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In looking back at my years of being a lead pastor, one of the hardest issues to handle was when an individual or family would leave.
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Screens dominate our lives. TV screens, computer screens, smartphone screens, tablet screens, gaming screens, video conference screens. We are screened like no other generation in history.
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I came across a quote from a pastor named J.D. Greear recently that powerfully gripped me: “Those who care about the future of the Great Commission will devote themselves to multiplying and sending, not gathering and counting.”
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I came across a quote from a pastor named J.D. Greear recently that powerfully gripped me: “Those who care about the future of the Great Commission will devote themselves to multiplying and sending, not gathering and counting.”
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If I were to ask you, “What is the #1 predictor and factor of success for leaders,” what would you suggest? Gifting? Opportunity? Creativity?
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Pastor and author Mark Batterson got my attention in a big way when he wrote, “Half of learning is learning. The other half of learning is unlearning. Unfortunately, unlearning is twice as hard as learning.”
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Every week a pastor faces the challenge of taking the timeless gospel message and communicating it in a timely way that is both stirring and sticky. That is to say, it grabs people’s attention and stays with them.
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Let’s be honest. Most of us don’t love staff meetings. They are often boring, too long, and sometimes even irrelevant. And yet, we all know that staff meetings are a must if our teams are going to have any chance of staying on the same page.
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Once again Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has won the MVP for the National Football League. It’s the third time he’s been given this high honor.
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When it comes to leadership, there is one practice that is often overlooked yet is exceedingly important. That is simply giving a sincere compliment.
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Dwight Eisenhower is noted as saying, “What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.” This "Eisenhower Principle" is said to be the basis for how he organized his workload and priorities.
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When we think of the Apostle Paul, typically we consider him as a church planter and a letter writer. Yet it’s important to understand that he was also a disciple-maker.
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I’m a voracious reader. On the fiction side, my taste ranges from historical novels to detective mysteries. On the non-fiction side, I enjoy devotional, professional, and developmental publications.
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In my 40 years of walking with the Lord, I’ve worked hard to maintain a disciplined devotional life. While that commitment has proven to be valuable, I’ve got to admit that at times it’s been more duty than delight.
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In my years of pastoring, I had to lead my organization through a lot of change - from major paradigm shifts to small operational adjustments. In that process, I’ve discovered a couple of key truths regarding change.
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If you’re the leader in an organization, you have the responsibility of communicating the facts clearly. All the facts. Those that folks want to hear and those that folks don’t want to hear.
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Thirty-eight years ago this month I was installed as senior pastor at Fellowship Missionary Church. The church was a small plant and met in a YMCA. And I was as green as grass!
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In light of my experience of handing off a church I led for 34 years, I’m often approached both by pastors and church boards to share with them what I learned about succession. What worked for us well, where we made some mistakes, and what I would do differently.
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