“…men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do-“ I Chronicles 12:32 “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them.” Acts 6:3 Nobody wants to prepare for a crisis. It’s a lot of […]
Seven Reasons To Not Publicly Criticize Your Pastor
Here’s something that never ceases to amaze me. Church members sit in their favorite spot in the worship service on Sunday morning. They pray, praise, sing, listen and, through the words of hymns, creeds, prayers and covenants, they commit themselves anew to following Jesus and loving the brethren. The service ends, there’s a ten-minute break, […]
Models of Board Member Ministry
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. […]
Models of Board Member Ministry – Brian’s Notes
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, […]
How To Not Get Fired Next Time
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 […]
Some BIG Advantages Of SMALL Churches
I have the privilege today of writing about a very good movement within the American Evangelical world. With all our issues, there are also some healthy trends in Christianity in the US today, and here’s one of them: A whole new (and old) attitude toward small churches. By “small” I also mean “average,” as the […]
Programs, Paradigms And Presuppositions: Why We’re Struggling With Disciple-Making
Trends come and go. Some are good and some are…not so good. The disciple-making trend, which can legitimately be called a movement is one of the most encouraging trends I’ve seen for a long time. At its heart, the “new” disciple-making movement (or DM) is a shift back towards an understanding of the Christian life, […]
