Category: Christian Leadership
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Windmills
In my workshop at the 2018 RHMA conference, one of the examples I gave for the need to network for ministry in your community is a windmill field. These things seem to be everywhere that it’s flat for more than 50 acres in the Midwest. If you drive across I-74 in Illinois, it looks that…
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Grasshoppers!
Numbers 13:31-33 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which…
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Read the Instructions
Matthew 7:15-20 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear…
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Practice?
In 2 Corinthians 4:16 Paul encourages the Corinthian believers to hold fast to sharing their faith with others and growing in their relationship with Christ. He points out that what we do here on earth as believers is preparing us for an eternity with God. One worshiping Him forever. So what we do here is…
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10 Church Safety Questions You Should Be Asking…
In light of all the news surrounding the church shooting in Tennessee this weekend, there are some questions that those of us in church leadership should be asking ourselves. We live in a dangerous world. Yes, it’s unfortunate that as shepherds, we must help in protecting our flock from physical danger, in addition to guarding…
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The Church Cat.
I had a first in ministry today. A cat as a visitor to the congregation. The church I am serving is across the street from a home with several kids and a few cats. Often when I come on Sunday morning, there is a black and white cat that roams around the front yard of…
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What is a Transitional Pastor?
The other day, I posted an announcement about serving at Bloomingdale Friends church for the remainder of 2017 as their Transitional Pastor. I want to follow that up by writing a little about what a transitional pastor is (and isn’t). If you really want to dig into what the position entails, Dan Garland wrote a…
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Transitional Assistance…
So a former southern baptist youth pastor who works for a non-denominational parachurch ministry walks into a Quaker Church… This is not the lead up to a really great “preacher joke”, this is life right now, and truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. When you follow God’s call, you don’t really get to choose where…
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Five Ways to Welcome New Church Staff to Your Community… A How-to guide.
If you live in a community of any size, there is a decent probability that one of the churches will have hired new or replacement staff members. Uprooting and moving a family two miles or two thousand miles is a big deal. How can the believers in your local community make them feel welcome? 1)…
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Remembering Columbine… Never Again.
On April 20, 1999. Things changed. Not everyone that day knew just exactly how wide ranging those changes would be, but there was a huge cultural shift. The school shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado was one of stories that helped to form our current 24 hour news cycle. In fact, next school years…
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Help Wanted…
Today’s teenagers are struggling with issues that I never would have dreamed of as a teen. Many of them also lack the home support system that most of us enjoyed growing up. Where are they getting their influence? Every town has several churches with youth workers that desire to reach today’s teenagers, but it looks…
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An interesting observation….
I visit many churches as part of my role with NNYM. They have been different denominations and sizes, but a pattern emerges as churches adopt technology such as PowerPoint and other presentation software. The really small churches tend to have the pastor running it from up front, while seeking others to operate it as they…