I have to admit it. I’m a structure guy. Even during periods when evangelicals seem intent on denigrating the importance of Biblical, workable, church structures, I’ve stuck to my guns: good structure can help a church to function well. But it certainly can’t do everything. Biblical, workable, understandable constitutions, by-laws, governance systems and policies have […]
Six More Evenings When Boards Are At Their Worst
The meeting began almost on time but ended well past everybody’s bedtime. At seven pm the members were still sharing prayer requests about their relatives’ physical ailments. At eight pm everybody started reading their reports. At nine pm the long discussion about what kind of baptistery heater to buy commenced. At ten pm the real […]
Three Evenings When Boards Are At Their Worst
Some of you knew it was coming. After writing two posts about evenings when boards are at their best, you guessed I’d be blogging about evenings when boards are at their worst. Boards are at their (absolute) worst when self-willed people are fighting to get their own way. James put it bluntly when he said […]
Three More Evenings When Boards Are At Their Best
In spite of all the snide remarks, jokes and complaints we pastors make about church boards, in the last analysis, most of us know that they are necessary. No, not a necessary evil, just necessary. “What’s the definition of a board?” “Dead wood.” What’s the other definition of a board? “A group of highly competent […]
Six Evenings When Boards Are At Their Best
I’ve been through a lot with boards. I’m sure it’s also true that boards have been through a lot with me. They remind me of the old saying that “you can’t live with ‘em and you can’t live without ‘em.” However frustrated we may become with boards, it’s pretty clear from Scripture that God intended […]
Six Characteristics of Pastors Who Deserve to be Followed
I received some pushback regarding a couple of blog posts I wrote about allowing pastors to lead their churches. I argued that most churches which are actually making devoted followers of Christ out of the raw material of lost people have pastors who are expected to actually lead. Actually leading means that these privileged pastors […]
Six Marks Of A Genuinely Loving Pastor/leader
I’ve seen it repeatedly. When church members are surveyed regarding what they want in their church’s next pastor, the attribute most frequently mentioned is “a loving caregiver” or “a loving shepherd.” However we may feel about the level of Christian maturity reflected in these results, this is reality and it’s not lost on pastors. Pastors […]
The Anesthesia That Makes Church Surgery Possible
I love to use the medical model for church revitalization. It is so blessedly simple. Anybody can remember that the process is going to involve a few weeks of diagnosis, followed by approximately a year of surgery, followed by about another year of recovery. Diagnosis, surgery, recovery. A fifth grader can understand it. After explaining […]
Encountering Dysfunctional Church Systems
In the 1962, Western classic, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” Jimmy Stewart plays a fresh-faced young lawyer, Ransom Stoddard, determined to bring law and order to the wild west town of Shinbone. Before he even makes it into town he is robbed and brutally beaten by the outlaw bully, Liberty Valance. As much as […]
Three Benefits of Getting a Fresh Start
Not so long ago, the ideal among evangelical pastors was the “lifetime pastorate” of 20, 30 or 40 years. Our models were a few famous pastors. “Since their ministries were long and successful,” we reasoned, “if I have a long ministry it will also be successful.” That was a poor deduction. Those long ministries were […]
Change The Values – Change The Church
I still believe in the importance of having good, simple, understandable, non-obtrusive, biblical, church structures. Top notch constitutions, by-laws, covenants, ministry descriptions, guiding principles, can’t, by themselves, produce healthy churches. Bad ones, however, can make healthy churches almost impossible. But structure doesn’t count for much compared to the values in the hearts and minds of […]
The Problem With Exciting Church Growth
“Problem? What? Are you kidding?” Most of us find the growth of our churches to be exhilarating, exciting, heady. Especially if this growth follows an extended period of little or no growth. New people walking in every Sunday! Favorable comparisons to your newbie’s former pastors! Long dormant ministry slots finally being filled! Except for a […]
Can Ordinary Pastors Become Revitalization Pastors?
The short answer is a happy “Yes!” I should define my terms. “Traditional” pastors preach sermons, teach classes, pray, give pastoral care and do administrative tasks. Those are all important. The revitalization pastor does all of those things and is also able to provide the visionary and strategic leadership which can take a willing (key […]
Five More Excuses For Our Gossip
Everybody knows that gossip is both wrong and harmful. It ruins reputations. It separates the best of friends (as in Proverbs 16:28 and 17:9). It allows us to “wimp out” of the important face-to-face conversations which we need to have. It sullies our consciences. It demeans those whom we talk about, those of us who […]
The Top Ten Excuses For Our Gossip, Part One
Here’s a concise definition of gossip: Saying negative things about a person which the hearer does not need to hear. Everybody knows that gossip is wrong. Almost everybody knows that gossip is harmful to individuals and organizations. Almost all of us indulge in gossip in one way or another at one time or another. It’s […]
Demystifying The “Vision Thing”
Vision is like the weather: everybody’s talking about it but nobody’s doing anything about it. If nobody’s doing anything about it, it’s because practically everybody is confused about it. Demystifying the “vision thing” has become a passion for me. It doesn’t have to be painfully confusing. And a single, unifying vision really is vital, not […]
Book review: 5 Gears: How to be present and productive when there is never enough time
Most of us have used figures of speech derived from the experience of shifting the gears of a car or a bicycle. “On my way home from work I try to shift gears so I’m ready to interact with my family.” “While doing lunch with my co-workers I have to change gears and remember to […]
The Everlasting Gossip Stopper Can Change Your Church’s Culture
Every human organization has a problem with gossip. It follows the association of people with people as night follows day. I’m not talking about the innocuous version of gossip which is simply talking about people. “In Bible times, women met at the village well to exchange the latest gossip.” I’m talking about the harmful kind […]
Four Ways To Be Stupid With Your Smart Phone
Okay. I finally did it. After years of cajoling from family and friends, I finally bought a smart phone. Now I have to learn how to use it. More importantly, I have to learn how not to use it. As usual, our advances in technology have outdistanced our manners, our ethics. On a global scale, […]
Four Elephants Which Can Hurt Your Church (and how to kill them)
I can just imagine the faces of the people in the Philippian church. One of their leaders was reading a letter from their church’s founder. Except for a couple of gentle hints about “the unity thing,” most of it had been positive, affectionate and encouraging. Suddenly they heard the words, “I beseech Euodia and I […]
More Reasons To Let Your Pastor Lead
In an earlier blog (“Three reasons why board members should let their pastors lead”) I spoke directly to board members and made a case for allowing your “lead” pastor to actually lead your church: to be the one who comes down from the mountain with both a vision and a ministry strategy for your church. […]
