Every pastor leads with a finite amount of trust. Theologians might call it credibility; leadership writers call it relational or political capital. Whatever the term, it functions the same way: it accumulates slowly through faithfulness and depletes quickly through avoidable mistakes.
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There are many ways to prepare for Vacation Bible School. Prayer is an obvious one. Prayer walking offers every church member an opportunity to lay an intentional, strategic spiritual foundation for ministering to children.
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The hymn “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” has the line, “How great the pain of searing loss, the Father turns His face away.” Yet is that what happened? Did the Father literally abandon the Son?
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We've all been there. We want to pray but the words won't come. Maybe we don't what to say. Perhaps the burden is heavy it's hard to articulate. Chuck Lawless shares 10 tips to help you in these moments.
I first wrote about this topic in 2016, but my burden for university and college students has grown exponentially since then. I’m convinced we can change the world for Christ if we reach this group; in fact, I want the next season of my ministry career to include investing even more in college students. Here’s why:
I realize gossip has been an issue in the church since its inception. Now, how do we address this issue?
I’ve work with a number of pastor and staff search teams as they vet possible candidates for their open positions. I’ve also spent a lot of time listening to candidates talk about their varied experiences in the process. Here are several mistakes I’ve seen search teams make:
I spend a lot of time with missionaries. Based on my conversations with them over the last year, here are some ways your church can help them:
Let me get to the bottom line: I believe every church ought to send their pastor on at least one international mission trip, including paying his way (and his spouse’s way). Here’s why:
As a young believer, I learned from older believers that we were supposed to evangelize lost people—but do so from a distance so you’re not stained by the relationship.
For more than 30 years now, I’ve been teaching seminary students. Do you want to guess one common characteristic I see among young seminarians who are most seriously faithful in their spiritual disciplines?
I know it sounds like a basic, simplistic matter in our Christian walk, but I’m writing this post to encourage all of us to do spiritual disciplines like Bible study, prayer, fasting, and solitude. Here’s why:
I have written other posts about poor discipleship n the church, including how not to fix that process. For this post, though, I’ve updated a previous one to show 12 results I’ve seen when a church does not do discipleship well. You will find most of this list in my new book, Disciple.
It’s no secret that many evangelicals struggle with doing evangelism. In fact, many will never share their faith with anybody. Because of my commitment to help churches recommit to evangelism, I’m offering this list of practical resources that may help you and your church re-invest in this task:
