“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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Becoming Effective Leaders (BEL) Groups For Pastors
Those of us who serve Jesus as pastors deeply long to lead churches which are powerfully used by God to make real disciples – devoted followers – of our Savior. We want to lead disciple-making, transformational churches and we don’t want to just “spin our wheels” until it’s time to retire. But how do we […]
Twenty Observations About Troubled Congregations
By Peter Steinke I have worked with troubled churches for 20 years. I never cease to learn from these experiences. The list below includes some of what I have learned about congregations in times of conflict: 1. Most people are interested in relieving their own anxiety rather than managing the crisis or planning for a […]
QUICK GUIDE – Getting To Sticky (Effective Pastor/Board Relationships)
The term and the concept of “Sticky” pastor/board relationships has been borrowed from Pastor Larry Osborne’s iconic book, Sticky Teams. Describing Sticky – Here’s what we mean by a Sticky church leadership team: 1.The senior (or solo) pastor is a godly and loving man who truly cares about each member of the church board and […]
QUICK GUIDE – Structure For Success
When it comes to church structure (constitutions, by-laws, policies, flow-charts, etc.): What works? What kind of structure is conducive to disciple-making effectiveness? The following are 30 “bullet point” sized suggestions. 1. Mission and vision driven – (or purpose driven) – What is your church for? Who is it for? What is it supposed to […]
QUICK GUIDE – Discipleship Pathways – Strategies For Discipling
Increasing numbers of evangelical church leaders believe in “intentional disciple-making.” This means having a plan, a system, a process for bringing new believers to maturity in Christ. We encourage every church to decide on a discipleship pathway for their own congregation. It may be very imperfect, but an imperfect discipleship pathway is far better than none […]
QUICK GUIDE – Training Elders
I agree with Pastor Larry Osborne that the health of a church begins in the board room. Pastor/board unity is the key to church unity. The leadership of a united board will usually be followed by a united church. We believe that elders should be trained for their critically important role. It is not enough […]
INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS – Strategic PlanningTemplate #1
Some say that strategic planning (hereafter: SP) is a trend in the business world and therefore shouldn’t be applied to the church. However: The fact that it’s trendy in the business world doesn’t make it wrong. SP should be judged by Biblical and practical criteria, on its own merits. Planning, with humility, the fear of […]
PURPOSE: Strategic Planning Template #2
Is there a difference between mission (what the church is supposed to DO) and purpose (the ultimate reason for why the church EXISTS)? 1. Some evangelical writers/thinkers say “no,” there is no difference and leave it at that. 2. Other evangelical leaders confuse the issue (in my opinion) by coming up with several purposes […]
FINDING OUR MISSION: Strategic Planning Template #3
Jesus wasn’t always easy to understand but He did make the church’s mission clear and simple. Study Matthew 28:16-20 – There is only one command here in the original language. What is it? Three participles (ing words) describe how the command gets done. What are they? Going – this is the action that we must […]
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