Church

Oct 13 2014

What I Did When I Couldn’t Take The Lies Anymore (Maybe You Can Relate)

I remember like it was yesterday. I felt that I had been lied to. To make matters worse, I felt that I was still being lied to. The frustration built as I continued to contemplate that, what I had thought to be the truth was actually something else. I can remember exactly where I was when I, as a newly minted church planter came to the realization that all of the things that I had been told about church planting failed to come close to the reality that I was now living. That is also the moment I knew that I needed to begin writing about my experiences, thoughts, and feelings as a church planter and church leader. [Read more…] about What I Did When I Couldn’t Take The Lies Anymore (Maybe You Can Relate)

Oct 02 2014

8 Lessons Church Planting Has Taught Me – Part II

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

May 26 2014

Enough of the Fake Relationships Among Leaders

As a leader, do you have relationships that you would consider brutally honest? The kind of relationship where your friend can tell you the truth and where you can do the same? If you are like many contemporary leaders, especially in Christian ministry, the answer is probably no. The fact that many leaders don’t have these kinds of relationships is not only hurting them professionally and personally, but also hurting their families and the people they are called to lead.

Aug 19 2009

Courageous Leadership Needed

Let me state right here at the beginning that this is a rant. I believe that it is founded in fact and truth, but it is a rant nonetheless. The Christian Church in the U.S. is in need of more courageous leadership.

There was a time in the Church’s history in this country when it led the charge in many areas, both spiritually and culturally. For the most part, those times have passed. There are still ministries whose leaders are determined to stand with their integrity intact, while boldly advancing Christ’s mission and agenda. Sadly, the majority of Christian leaders are content to be cheap knock-offs of whatever leader or ministry seems to be the most popular at the time. This is not just sad, its dangerous.

Many of our burgeoning leaders are weaned in the vast wasteland of Christian television. Before you type in another web address and write me off, remember that this is a rant and hear me out. Not all Christian television is bad, but most only exemplifies the lack of courageous leadership that I am lamenting in this post.

Courageous leadership doesn’t follow the crowd, but stays on the path of righteousness. Courageous leadership has a clearly articulated set of beliefs to protect itself from being swayed by every wind of doctrine. Courageous leadership has God’s mission and vision as the only aim and measure of ministry success. Courageous leadership doesn’t equate the amassing of personal wealth, influence, or titles as the only measure of being in God’s will or favor. Courageous leadership is willing to make difficult decisions, to the detriment of oneself, to ensure the success of Christ’s mission.

I’m seeing too many clones of self-serving at best, heretical at worst leaders launching ministries these days. Glitz and glamour are not prerequisites to effectiveness in ministry. They may draw a crowd, but they won’t grow a people. A question that I asked many times prior to responding affirmatively to the urge to start a church was?”why does God need another Church?” What will the ministry of your church do differently from the thousands that exist, to advance his mission?

Some leaders need to find the courage to change and do ministry for God, not themselves. Some leaders need to find the courage to speak with the voice they feel inside, regardless of the crowd’s response. Some leaders need to find the courage to seek another vocation, and allow God to put a truly courageous leader in their place.

Stay blessed.

Dec 01 2008

Something Else Good to Read

Even with a lot of writers taking a mini break fro the Thanksgiving Day holiday, there were still a lot of good things to read. Here are just a few. Enjoy.

Michael Spencer over at Internet Monk.com wrote a great post on Christian Community and Abandoning Commitment. In the post Michael deals with the notion that while contemporary forms of evangelicalism have done much for church growth, they have done little to develop a true sense of Christian community. Its a good, thought-provoking post that calls for leaders to rethink our notion of “church”.
If you are a preacher, or even if you’ve only listened to one, I’m sure that you will agree with Peter Mead’s assessment of a temptation that all preachers face–using one text to preach another. Preach It From The Right Passage is a post from Biblical Preaching.
Whether you believe in luck or not (personally, I don’t), you can benefit from the 4 tips in Jon Gordon’s blog post Enhance Your Luck.
Finally, two posts from George Ambler at The Practice of Leadership. Are you living the Leadership Challenge, and The Lesson of the Moth. Both are good reads. If you are familiar with the foundational leadership book The Leadership Challenge, then you will enjoy being reminded of the principles that the book espouses that all extraordinary leaders should exemplify. The second post is just great to me, calling leaders to stop playing it so safe all the time.