Last week, I shared that 42 percent of pastors have considered quitting full-time ministry within the past year. This week, I have another sobering statistic about pastors that we must confront — 1 in 4 pastors …

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The National Alliance on Mental Illness recently found that about 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. experience mental illness each year, but less than half receive treatment. Pastors and …

In an ideal world, when we graph attendance, giving, and engagement, it would create a straight line that goes up and to the right. However, we rarely see results like that in the real world. More …

This Thursday is called “Maundy Thursday” on the church calendar. It commemorates the day when Jesus gave his new command (mandatum nova) to love others as he loved us. He said this love should characterize our lives …

Doctors take measurements over time to gauge your health. Tracking blood pressure, weight, and cholesterol levels makes it easier to spot problems before they become severe. Churches can also benefit from collecting and analyzing objective data over …

Easter provides a great opportunity to help unchurched people take a first step toward Jesus and to help “stuck” Christians take a next step toward maturity. Discipleship is a pathway, but we often treat it like …

Great photography requires both a zoom lens and a wide-angle lens. During the winter, I love to pull out my zoom lens and focus on a single snowflake. Then, I reach for the wide-angle lens to capture …

The Super Bowl is an annual reminder of the power of good storytelling. Many football fans watch the ads just as closely as the big game itself because everyone loves a creative and entertaining story. …