“Add to your team slowly, intentionally, and wisely. Look for red flags and don’t just hope they’ll disappear. They hardly ever do – and they’re a whole lot harder to handle once you’ve already taken the plunge.”   Adding members to a worship team, a choir, or really any volunteer team is one of the... Continue Reading

“That makes me wonder what Rubin does with evangelicals who chastise the President for his egotism, lack of decorum, and many vices and sins. Aren’t they guilty of demanding that Trump conform to Christian morality? And isn’t that a form of imposing Christianity on the country?”   Jennifer Rubin, a conservative columnist at the Washington... Continue Reading

“My brother pastor, have you lost sight of what prayer is? Prayer is spending time with the Master drawing down on his resources so that when you minister to others it flows from your ongoing relationship with the Father. That is prayer. It forms a wonderful connection between our identity and our ministry. Do you... Continue Reading

“When we saw this shaping up, we had to ask ourselves, ‘Can our congregation have a lead pastor that’s a woman?,’” said Hybels, speaking from Willow Creek’s central campus in South Barrington, Illinois, one of seven locations in the Chicago region that draw a collective total of 25,000 worshippers each weekend. “And because this is... Continue Reading

This is a reminder to put people ahead of stats. Whether our church is growing, shrinking or static, we need to celebrate stories of changed lives more than our attendance numbers. Don’t pursue a bigger crowd at the cost of a healthier church. We need congregations where people truly do come before numbers. Keep ministering.... Continue Reading

Leadership recognizes the simple choice is, “change or die.” The church decides to make significant leadership, methodological, organizational, structural, and philosophical changes. Advantages: The church may reverse the decline and become a gospel influence in the community again. For those who are on board, there can be a sense of radical obedience to the gospel.... Continue Reading

Because men are sinners, prayer must always be employed in preaching. Prayer before and after preaching must not only plead that God graciously overcome the ruinous effects of our sin, but that God would also turn his anger away from our obstinacy and unbelief.   In his first sermon on our Lord’s prayer in John... Continue Reading

A person’s gifts and usefulness should never be used to cover or balance out evil. Just as, “But he makes great films,” and, “But he makes us lots of money,” were used for decades to excuse Weinstein’s abuse, so “But he preaches great sermons” and “But he brings in lots of people/money/publicity” can also excuse... Continue Reading

“The discipline of the Christian faith and life means all God’s people work out their salvation with fear and trembling, because it is God who is at work in his people both to will and work for his good pleasure (Phil. 2:12-13). It means that those who claim to have new life in Christ will... Continue Reading

The calling of the pastor is inextricably tied to the biblical metaphor of a shepherd tending to his flock of sheep. Alexander Strauch says, “If we want to understand Christian elders and their work, we must understand the biblical imagery of shepherding. As keepers of sheep, New Testament elders are to protect, feed, lead, and... Continue Reading