Most church-going people want their congregation to have a great preacher. Good for them. Why would we want anything less? The wrong way to make this happen is to get rid of your current preacher and go find one who is already great. There are all sorts of problems with this approach which we won’t […]
Why We Must Get Disciple-Making Back Into The Christian Life
Here’s what I’m concerned about… In the New Testament, sharing one’s faith, personal efforts to make disciples by individual disciples, is the norm: Jesus wasted no time in sending the twelve, and then the seventy, into Judea and Galilee. As busy as he was, Jesus regularly modeled personal disciple-making for his 12 men-in- training (John […]
Experiencing God’s Leadership
“In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers…While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” From Acts 13:1-2 After many years of believing that church leaders were pretty much “on their own” with […]
Christian Hedonism: Three Timeless Truths
“In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus.” Afro-American Spiritual “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:25,26 “For me, to life is Christ, and to die […]
Maximize Your Church’s Joy!
My Grandpa Thorstad was a wise guy and a tease. He usually had a twinkle in his eye and a trick up his sleave. After his daughter, my Aunt Evelyn, moved to California, she praised her newfound “land of milk and honey” ad nauseum. My gardening-fanatic grandfather was constantly beguiled with stories of California’s bounty. […]
Eight Ways Churches Practice Ongoing Revitalization
In a recent post I shared Seven Reasons Why All Churches Need Ongoing Revitalization. Without thoughtful, intentional effort, even the most vibrant congregation will slip, almost imperceptibly, off the peak of the church life-cycle mountain. It’s much more pleasant to stay on top than to try to stop a congregation which is on a downward […]
Seven Reasons Why All Churches Need Ongoing Revitalization
I’m no science guy but I know how to Google, and I discovered this morning that 50-70 billion cells in the human body die – and are replaced with new ones – every day. Cell types that experience the greatest turnover are skin cells, blood cells and some of the cells that line structures like […]
Three Ways Revitalizing Your Church Is Like Remodeling Your Home
“Revitalizing your church is like remodeling your house: It will take more time, cost more money and create a bigger mess than you ever could have imagined. But in the end, it’s worth it.” Anonymous I have loved that observation for a long time now, and […]
Eight More Reasons To Expect Persecution
An old friend who is a keen student of Church history has been telling me for thirty years that “The only hope for the American Church is persecution.” I fear that he’s right, and as much as I’d love to see a vibrant Church in my country, I can’t say that I’m embracing persecution. But […]
What In The World Did We Expect?
Having the right expectations really matters. Just think about the expectations with which you entered into: High School College Marriage Your spouse’s extended family Your first full-time job Many American Christians are reeling right now because of their expectations. They thought that the unusual (from a historical perspective) conditions which we had in America for […]
Fresh Starts Needed; How Nostalgia Holds Us Back
Many church leaders are telling us that there isn’t going to be a return to “normal” any time soon, or ever. Even if your “good old days” were in 2019 (instead of 1955), the 2019 version of “church as usual” isn’t coming back. Even churches which weren’t even slightly interested in experiencing revitalization are facing […]
Can The Government Destroy The Church?
“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in […]
Four Opportunities For The New Year
“The secret of the Christian life is a series of new beginnings” George Sweeting In my home area of northwestern Wisconsin there is a village which is prospering and attractive. It’s not my home-town, I’m sorry to say, it’s ten miles up the road. Back during my adolescent years, my village was prospering and the […]
Senior-itis And Senior Pastor-itis
I think we all know what senior-itis is: the arrogance/impatience/excitement of the high school senior who feels like she’s: (a) an adult, trapped in a child’s existence (b) so much smarter than her parents (c) a college student on the inside who is suffering terribly by having to attend high school and live with her […]
Ten Questions For The Post-Covid Church
I’m seeing a lot of internet traffic these days on the subject of the Post-COVID Church: the way evangelical Christianity is going to look, in America, after the pandemic is over. I appreciate every attempt I’ve seen and heard to make sense of this crazy year and to predict the future. I don’t have a […]
Is There Hope For The Small Town Church?
God brought me on a journey so I could meet Joe Humrichous (pronounced: HUM rick house). The physical journey was an uneventful trip to northeast Indiana. The spiritual journey was more exciting. I had just finished writing, A Really Great Church! in which I sought to point my readers to the sufficiency of Christ for […]
The Church In Motion
The following is a sermon which I’ve preached in many churches. I turned it into this article for the Spring, 2021 edition of Revitalizer magazine. Like most couples who’ve been married for a long time, Donna and I are very much alike in some ways and yet still very different in other ways. On our […]
Seven Positive Things Pastors Can Do Right Now
These are difficult days for my pastor friends! I keep hearing about anger and division over: COVID prevention strategies, President Biden’s election, charges of voter fraud, threats to civil liberties, local church political involvement, etc. Pastors are taking it on the chin like never before. While there’s little a pastor can do about any of […]
Surviving or Thriving: Options for the Declining Church
Here’s the bad news… 65-90% of American Protestant churches are plateaued or declining in attendance. 1% of America’s Protestant congregations close their doors each year. The average congregation of about 75 in Sunday attendance wins less than one adult unbeliever to Christ per year. Most churches believe that they can keep doing the same […]
Worn-Out Shoes And Fair-Haired Boys
“Why don’t you love me like you used to do? How come you treat me like a worn-out shoe?” Hank Williams Here’s a phenomenon I’ve seen a number of times. If you’re an experienced leader, I’m sure that you’ve seen it too. An older, generally respected, long-time leader of an organization recruits or hires a […]
Sample Elder Covenant
NOTE: I’ve been a part of writing several elder board covenants. This one is my favorite. As elders (Acts 20:28-10; I Peter 5:1-4) we pledge ourselves to: Watch our relationships with God carefully, knowing that we are only as useful to each other and our church as we are close to God. Acts 20:28 Make […]
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