Blog

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:43-45a We all know this simple command.  It’s challenging enough when we think in terms of […]

Sooner or later, most pastors will sense that it’s time to “take on,” confront, rebuke or correct their congregation. Some combination of (1) his people’s words or behaviors (2) a compelling teaching of the Bible (3) the constraint or leadership of the Holy Spirit, or (4) the pastor’s own impassioned spirit, will convince him that […]

I don’t want to sound pathetic.  I’m not that old and I’m not that tired either, but I’m older than I used to be (and so are you) and I’m less energetic than I used to be (and you probably are too). This world which we all live in views this as tragic.  Youth is […]

In my last post I launched into exposing ten myths about the revitalization of churches.  I began with this “googled” definition: Revitalization is the “action of imbuing something with new life and vitality”. In light of this, admittedly, secular definition, instead of asking if every church needs revitalization, maybe we should be asking if any church doesn’t need […]

rēˌvīdələˈzāSH(ə)n,rēˌvīdlˌīˈzāSH(ə)n Noun – The action of imbuing something with new life and vitality. “The city has seen revitalization of its economy” Thanks to Mr. Google for the above. The idea of church revitalization assumes that at some point in time the congregation in question was teeming with life. While this is clearly not the case with every church, […]

This is going to be a long post.  I know it’s not for everybody but it might be for you, or someone you love, so please read the next paragraph. A couple of weeks ago I read a new post by Thom Rainer, founder and CEO of Church Answers and the author of over 40 […]

Just between you and me, I hate that question. It’s almost as thoughtless as the “How ya doin’?” question you get on the way into the convenience store from perfect strangers who have no intention of waiting to hear your answer. Worse yet, “I trust that everything’s okay with you?” – usually spoken with more […]

I have many conversations with pastors which include this question.  We talk about lots of other things, from illnesses to children to football, and then I invariably get around to the “How’s your CHURCH doing?” question. Some pastors have the privilege of leading churches which are building the Kingdom of Christ with some real God-given […]

Two weeks ago, in a post called, Models of Board Member Ministry, I wrote about the endless variations in expectations and assumptions among incoming board (council, consistory, session, elders, deacons) members. Working through my post – as a group exercise – can be a helpful way to movefrom board confusion, disunity and dysfunction to clarity, […]

Almost every church has some variety of leadership team which meets regularly (or occasionally) to make decisions and help and/or hinder the work of the congregation’s professional staff.  These groups are variously called: the board, the elders, the deacons, the consistory, the session or the council.  The degree of authority which they wield varies greatly.  […]

I’m excited to see a growing interest in the practice of churches employing interns: recent college or seminary graduates – or even their own budding “home grown” church members – to short-term opportunities to serve and grow. In my childhood in a Lutheran church, we typically had an intern on staff: a young man, right […]

Back in 2022, I wrote some posts which touched on one of my favorite Old Testament prophets, the sensitive, justice-loving, heartsick, singer-songwriter (I think), Habakkuk. (He mentions his stringed instruments in chapter three, verse nineteen.) The writer of the fifth to the last book in our Old Testament was a contemporary of Jeremiah, and a […]