The 2022/23 ministry season has ended. What was the one thing that most annoyed you during the past year? Was it misspelled worship slides, leadership meetings that majored in minors, a poorly run children’s ministry, …
Covid Lessons and New Commitments
Covid-19 has impacted and continues to impact our world in more ways than expected. Some suggest that the coronavirus didn’t create all the problems we faced, but Covid-19 exposed preexisting issues that previously managed to …
Sharing Our Faith With Skeptics, Part Two
One of the key learnings from my recent documentary, “Paul in Athens,” was the prevalence of idols both in ancient Athens and in our culture today. The Greek philosopher Petroneous wrote 2000 years ago, “It …
Growing Leaders Like the Future of the Church Depends On It
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 …
Mental Health in Church Renewal
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 …
The Cycle of Change in Church Renewal
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 …
Can You Stay The Course?
I am in the routine of doing some “core” exercises each morning before my devotional time. I begin with planking for 2 minutes (I watch the YouVersion devotional video as I plank to occupy my …
Air Freshener For The Bathroom
“Churches don’t understand that if they just put some air freshener in the bathroom, people would feel more welcome.” These are words from a church consultant. Is he right? What are people telling us about …
From Me to We Outreach
Lifeway Research published a post-pandemic church growth article entitled “4 Factors That Predict Church Growth”. The author notes that the average Protestant church has 85% of their pre-pandemic attendance. Still, surprisingly, several churches grew. What …
Leading With Love In Church Renewal
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 …
