Escape the rut and live your masterpiece life.
You haven’t seen a certain family in some time. They used to be faithful in their attendance on Sundays and during the week. Recently their attendance has waned, and now they are no longer attending. Every pastor has experienced or will experience this situation. [Read more…] about What Every Pastor Should Do When People Leave the Church
Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. ~ Habakkuk 2:2
It is possible that you are saying to yourself, “Yet another article on the importance of vision to the local church.” I get it. Trust me, I get it. I said the same thing aloud when I was prompted to write this article. Then I came to the realization that the reason there are so many things written about vision, and the reason that I am okay with adding yet another article to the pile, is that vision is vitally important. As local church leaders it is possible for us to underestimate the importance of vision until, due to a lack of vision, we’ve veered far off course. If that sounds right to you, then I encourage you to read on. [Read more…] about 5 Losses In Churches Without Vision
A couple begins attending the church you lead. They sit in the back, watching and listening attentively. They return more often over the next several months, but seem reluctant to engage any deeper. Finally, you are able to make a connection and find out that they have just begun attending church again. They share that they left the last church they attended after being wounded. They share all that they did at their former church, and how painful the circumstances were that led to them leaving the church. What are you to do? How should the church handle this family? [Read more…] about 5 Things Your Church Should Be For Those Overcoming Church Hurt
Church planting has been one of the most difficult and rewarding things that I have ever been blessed to do in my life. In the first post in this two-part series, I talked about the first four of the eight lessons that I have learned as a church planter. You can read the first post here. In this post I will cover lessons 5 through 8 that I have learned since planting Harvest Christian Fellowship in 2007. [Read more…] about 8 Lessons Church Planting Has Taught Me – Part II
I have learned a lot since January 2007 when Harvest Christian Fellowship began as a church plant. The truth is I never thought that I would be a church planter. I never sought to be a church planter. I never contemplated what being a church planter entailed or would be like until 2006. In spite of all of that, the undeniable truth is that being a church planter has taught me a lot about life, myself, leadership, faith, and people. There have been more surprises than I would have ever imagined, and I believe the lessons deserve to be shared with everyone. [Read more…] about 8 Lessons Church Planting Has Taught Me – Part I