Question: How are churches like navels?
Answer: Both congregations and belly buttons come in basically two styles – inny’s and outty’s. At least with congregations, outty’s are missionally preferable.
Missiologist Win Arn surveyed the members...
more »
In the next 10 blogs, I want to share with you 10 choices facing congregational leaders today. Each represents a fork in the road where one option leads toward increasing missional health and one option leads toward increasing missional decline. Every congregation makes these choices del...
more »
When newcomers worship with your congregation are they having a “Wow4 experience?” I recently heard Bob Farr from the Missouri Conference talk about “The three wows of worship.” Essentially, he said that unless visitors have a three Wow experience, the chances of ...
more »
There seems recently to be an epidemic of people feeling that there is not enough. Not enough money. Not enough time. Not enough talent. Not enough power. Not enough creativity. Not enough me.
Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread...
more »
If meetings could bring in the Kingdom and build the church . . . well, obviously they don’t! An outside observer might think that other than worship, having meetings is the primary mission of many congregations. And yet, I have yet to hear anyone on their deathbed say, “I su...
more »
We had been to church Saturday night. After the worship gathering, as my wife, Sue, talked to several friends, I stood in line to retrieve Noah, our grandson, from the nursery. As I looked into the room over the half-door, I watched as two three-year-olds “conversed” about a ...
more »
I’ve gone through all sorts of stages making announcements in worship. There was the all-the-news-in- Lake-Woebegone stage when my list was usually the length of an Isaiah scroll. There was the sprinkle- them-throughout-the-service stage. There was the let’s-get-everyon...
more »
A lot of church leaders think ministry is hard. They see other churches growing and making a difference in their community and think, “If only we . . .” “If only we had more people, more money, more energy. If only we had the right leadership, the right strategy, ...
more »
Tim Smiley and I just got back from the Q Event in Chicago, April 28 – 30 where we heard founder Gabe Lyons speak hopefully, even expectantly about the next generation of Christians. I’d like to share five characteristics of the emerging movement the Spirit is shaping through young...
more »
A good pastor and friend of mine recently asked me a simple question: “Why should I encourage people officially to join the church?” “What do you mean?” I replied. “Well, I have some people who attend regularly, are in a small group, ...
more »