One Sunday evening, Jim Edwards, our former minister to young adults, illustrated a sermon point with a story about a hitchhiker. Jim said that when he was a college student making a long drive back to school in the Northwest, he picked up a hobo. As they zoomed along the interstate, the hobo kept seeing things along the shoulder.
"Look!" he'd shout. "There's an old coat. Stop so I can pick it up." ...
I felt like the "before" picture for effective ministry. You know, like the ones that demonstrate a spectacular new diet by showing how bad the person looked before. As a speaker described all that was wrong with the typical church—declining attendance, limited evangelism results, no visible spiritual growth—I realized he was describing my church.
I love the ministry, but after eleven years, not ...
ARTICLE What Does a Healthy Church Look Like? (Part 1) Finally, a complete guide to the vibrant, dynamic, empowered, totally awesome, and really, robust church. Tracy Keenan, Ralph W. Neighbour, Jr., Steve Sjogren, Erwin McManus, Lee Eclov
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Your doctor says you're healthy, no signs of disease; blood pressure and
weight are within normal limits.
The fitness instructor says you're in terrible shape, resting pulse and body-fat
percentage are way above normal; flexibility is poor, and you just flunked
the treadmill test.
If both can be right, what does it mean to be healthy? And following the
same analogy, what does it mean for a church ...
In one of the spiritual gifts lists, Romans 12:8, the apostle Paul essentially says, "If you have the spiritual gift of leadership, lead with it, and lead with all diligence." I've come up with a partial list of what spiritually gifted leaders do if they develop and use their leadership gifts.
1. Leaders cast a God-honoring vision.Spiritually gifted leaders live in such a way that God invariably ignites ...
Five solemn-faced people assembled on the other side of the conference table, eyes averted. It was time for my performance review. Nobody seemed particularly festive.
For several months there had been rumblings about my pastoral "performance." Nobody doubted my gifts as a preacher or questioned my commitment to Christ. But everyone at the table that day knew there was a growing discontent with my skills ...
Over the years, I've served on and worked with many dysfunctional church boards. I've noticed that in almost every instance there was a conspicuous lack of [trust].
Healthy church boards give people freedom to do things however they deem best. In matters of taste, style, or methodology, they don't butt in. They let those who have the responsibility for a ministry exercise the authority to carry them ...
ARTICLE Rest for the Mind How you can still your racing thoughts in order to enjoy the presence of God? Ruth Haley Barton
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My heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother.
Not too long ago my husband informed me that during the night I sat up in bed and launched into the introduction to a new message. What surprised him most was that this sleepy sermon was coherent ...
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