Tag: Ministry
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10 Warning Signs of an Inwardly Obsessed Church
Researcher Thom Rainer warns of signs of a church that is so inwardly focused that it has ceased to be the church of Jesus Christ and has become, at best, a museum to (assumed) past glories, in which the membership makes up the board of directors. Rainer writes: Any healthy church must have some level…
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Lost Art of Discipleship
Sometimes we need to face up to difficult questions. Michael Horton, in his book The Gospel Commission, asks some really tough ones that every church, every church leader, every church member needs to ask themselves: Instead of reaching the lost, are we losing the reached? Or are those reared in our own churches being truly…
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The Secret Love Life of the Passionate Pastor
In this wonderfully encouraging and clarifying article Michael Milton describes the perils and joys of pastoral ministry. Most succinctly Mike explores the three loves above all others that the true Christ-like pastor must have: Love for God Love for God’s Word Love for God’s People Amazingly, no mention is made about the 3 B’s most…
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Total Church
I have recently been listening to Tim Chester and Steve Timmis speak about Total Church. I appreciate their emphasis that two key principles should shape church life: gospel and community. As Tim Chester writes: Christians are called to a dual fidelity: fidelity to the core content of the gospel and fidelity to the primary context…
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Mistakes
Steve Childers is Founder and President of Global Church Advancement. He is also professor of Practical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary-Orlando. In a former life Steve was an effective pastor and church planter. A number of years ago I had the privilege of taking a doctoral class in church planting under Steve’s tutelage. I have…
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Missional Shift
In his book The Present Future, Reggie McNeal reveals and contrasts different ways leaders can think about the church and its ministry. McNeal reflects upon the different paradigms that pastors can have as they lead and conduct ministry in the church. Being missional is a shift in thinking about the nature of the church. Once…
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A Case for Institutional Church
No doubt an “Organic” church is much more appealing than an Institution. Yet even Brian McLaren, in his book Church on the Other Side, recognizes that any church that includes more than a handful of people needs some level of organization, and the larger a church gets the more organization it requires. While the notion…
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No Need to Reinvent the Church
Let me just say it straight, up front: I see no need to reinvent the church. What I do see is the need for God’s People to act more faithfully as Christ’s Church. I like what Kevin DeYoung has to say in the Introduction to his book, The Good News We Almost Forgot: No doubt the church…
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Celebrating Gospel-Centeredness
A good article by Trevin Wax illustrating the importance of, not only Gospel-centeredness but, Gospel Celebration. Wax asserts: “What you celebrate as a Church is just as important as what you believe.” I am not sure I fully agree with that statement, but I do see how what is celebrated practically shapes the church, and…
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Is Church Growth a Biblical Expectation?
I was intrigued by the insights of Jay Childs in an article he wrote for Leadership Journal. The article, titled Church Growth vs. Church Seasons, focuses on the American fascination with large numbers. After telling some of his own story, Jay makes three primary observations: Our Situation is Not Unusual Non-Stop Numerical Growth is NOT…
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Are We One?
The church I pastor, Walnut Hill Church, has a problem. While not uncomon, it is an unusual problem in a day when 85% of all American Churches are stagnant or in serious decline. But it is not a problem I expect will generate a lot of sympathy from the pastors or members of most other…
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Externally Focused Quest
Most churches have a subtle, perhaps even unspoken, objective. It is driven by the question: “How can we be the best church in our community?” How a church answers that question determines the approach to membership, staffing, budget, etc. In a book I am now reading, Externally Focused Quest, authors Eric Swanson & Rick Rusaw ask…
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Right People, Right Direction
There are two common maxims offered to pastors when entering a new ministry. Both are wise and true. But they are mutually exlusive: “Don’t change anything in the first year.” “If you don’t change anything in the first year, you will never be able to change anything later.” One way to resolve the tension is to…
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Putting a Bus Stop at Our Church
A generation ago it was not uncommon for a churches to have bus ministries. Volunteers would drive a bus to pick people up from around the community and shuttle them to and from the church. Jim Collins, in his best-selling book Good to Great, seems to suggest churches still need to get people on and off the…
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7 Reasons We Need Small Groups
Our church has begun a process to initiate Small Group ministry. Though I am familiar with the “whys” and the methods of small groups, I am by no measure an expert. Fortunately, we do have in our church others who a far more knowledgeable than I am about the implementation of this aspect of ministry. Still, the early going has been…
