Delightful. That’s my one word review of the book by Presbyterian pastor Don Everts and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship coordinator, Doug Schaupp (IVP Books). The two have extensive experience in leading college-age postmodern skeptics to faith in Christ; more than two thousand of them, in fact. Their book is based on a great deal of listening […]
Four Ways Great Churches Keep It Simple
“Out of complexity, find simplicity.” Albert Einstein Not everything in life is simple, of course. There’s doing your taxes. Or getting your new computer up and running. Sigh. But the longer I live, the more I value the genius and the hard work which it takes to arrive at the elegant simplicity that is on […]
Three Ways Great Churches Focus On Action
“Words! Words! I get words all day through; First from him, now from you! Is that all you blighters can do?” Eliza Doolittle singing “Show Me” in Alan Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s “My Fair Lady” It sounds simplistic but I believe it’s true. Mediocre churches focus on words; great churches focus on actions. Here’s what […]
Six Ways Leading A Worship Team Is Like Leading A Church
It had been over ten years since I’d led a worship team while also leading the church. I had vowed to not do that again, but in a time of need, I broke my pledge. To my pleasant surprise, the task has been immensely enjoyable for me. I think it’s been helpful to our church […]
Three Challenges To The Traditional Search Committee
Congregational churches have traditionally replaced their pastors with the help of “search” or “pulpit” committees, made up of a combination of board members and non-board representatives of the congregation. The non-board members of the group are, in some churches, chosen by the church’s leaders, but are more typically elected by the congregation. In the worst […]
Ten Suggestions For Improving Our Small Groups And Bible Studies
Almost all of our evangelical churches have small groups and Bible studies of various kinds and configurations. Many of them are excellent. Some of them are…not so much. All of them could stand some improvement. Our wonderful God is ready and willing to help us if we want to make them better. Pastors or other […]
If Not Robert’s Rules, Then Whose Rules?
In a recent blog, Three reasons to kick Robert out of your church, I wrote about the problems involved in using Henry Martyn Robert’s famous Rules of Order in churches. They’re not consistent with the New Testament leadership pattern, They’re not consistent with a Biblical philosophy of leadership, and They open the door for ungodly, […]
Three Reasons To Kick Robert Out Of Your Church
No, I’m not talking about Elder Bob, or Deacon Robert or Youth Guy Robbie, I’m talking about the ubiquitous Robert’s Rules of Order. No offense is intended to Henry Martyn Robert either. The US Army Major meant well when he published his Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies in 1876. Robert was […]
More Perils of the Internal Candidate
In a previous post, Four perils of the internal candidate, I wrote about the difficulties which accompany the church staff member making himself a candidate for the position opened up by the departure of the senior pastor. In too many cases, good churches stumble into these situations without any knowledge of the perils. Here are […]
Four Perils Of The Internal Candidate
The senior pastor has just resigned. Before anyone can say “search committee,” the board chairman lets it be known that his nephew, a missionary in Botswana, would make a great candidate. The missionary is a favorite son candidate and there are dangers involved in how he is handled. Much more dangerous, however, is the situation […]
The Two Best Things I Never Knew About The Holy Spirit
I could not more highly recommend Fred Sander’s, The Deep Things of God (How the Trinity changes everything). This is theology at its best: Biblical, thought-provoking and heart-warming. It has changed my thinking and my worship. It has shown me that the gospel and the God I cherish are even better than I thought they […]
The Three Best Things I Never Knew About The Trinity
This is not a book review but I have to give credit where it’s due: Fred Sanders’ The Deep Things of God (How The Trinity Changes Everything) was an eye-opening, heart-warming, worship-inspiring experience for me, and continues to influence my life and work. Like all evangelical pastors, I believed in and taught the doctrine of […]
When Is A Pastor Like The New Sheriff In Town?
In earlier posts I’ve written about the analogies I use to help people understand the new varieties of transitional (or interim) pastoral ministry. I’ve explained that proactive interim specialists, variously called “strategic interim pastors,” “restoration pastors,” “redevelopment transitional pastors” or simply “interventionists,” are like: “This Old House” crew members Dog or horse whisperers Special forces […]
When Is A Pastor Like Nanny McPhee?
In an earlier post I wrote about some of the analogies I use to help people understand the new varieties of transitional (or interim) pastoral ministry. I explained in “Three analogies for understanding the redevelopment transitional pastor” that these proactive interim specialists are like This Old House crew members, dog or horse whisperers or special […]
Three analogies for understanding redevelopment transitional pastors
I’ve found that the following analogies are helpful for understanding the new paradigms in transitional (interim) pastoral ministry. The redevelopment transitional pastor is like: A “This Old House” crew member – If you’ve seen the long-running public television show you know the routine: A couple of homeowners sit down with the “This Old House” leaders […]
Not Your Father’s Interim Pastor
It wasn’t so long ago that almost all interim pastors were of the traditional variety. They preached sermons, gave pastoral care and basically just kept things afloat until the congregation could call a “real pastor.” Things have changed. Today’s interim pastors, who sometimes prefer to be called transitional pastors, are doing interim ministry in some […]
What’s the Church for anyway?
About twenty years ago I thought we finally had it right. My own enlightenment came through Sonlife Ministy’s Dann Spader: The church is for making disciples out of the raw material of lost people. This involves winning the lost, building up the believer and equipping the worker. Refreshing. Challenging. Simple. Biblical. Unarguable. Or so I […]
Book Review: The Externally Focused Quest
The challenge of turning an inwardly focused church into a vibrant, externally focused mission to its community is formidable. It’s no accident then that the same writers who gave us The Externally Focused Church, Eric Swanson and Rick Rusaw, felt led to follow it up with The Externally Focused Quest. It is a quest, and […]
Five Ways To Practice Spiritual One-upmanship
We might as well admit it. We’ve all used spiritual one-upmanship to win an argument or get our way in a board meeting or committee debate. My dictionary defines one-upmanship as “the technique or practice of gaining a feeling of superiority over another person.” Spiritual one-upmanship uses questionable appeals to the Bible, claims to godly […]
Three Trendy Imperatives The Bible Doesn’t Teach
The Apostle Paul gave his beloved young co-worker Timothy some timeless advice when he admonished, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.” (NAS) With a little imagination we could paraphrase that […]
Ten Ways To Respond To Gossip About Your Leaders
It’s out of style in today’s world, but in the value system of God, church leaders are to be held in high honor. I Thessalonians 5:13a says we should “Hold them in the highest regard in love, because of their work.” The “highest regard” means that we treat our church’s leaders as being just as […]
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