Why plant a church? Why plant a church in the Bible Belt? Why plant a church when there are already so many churches? Do we really need more churches? In this post, I want to explain the thinking behind church planting that helped to convince me of its ongoing need today in America. Misunderstandings For some time, I was convinced of the importance of church planting in global missions, but, probably like you, I wasn’t sure how it made sense in the United States because we have so … [Read more...] about Why Church Planting
ministry
Small Call
What does a call to ministry look like? Most of the call stories that get repeated are grand stories. One famous example is the call of Martin Luther. It involves a literal lightening bolt knocking him to the ground and an immediate commitment to become a monk. Now that is a call story! But must all call stories be so big? Many folks in ministry have only a small call story. There never was a thunderbolt or a burning bush. Just a shut door here and an opportunity there. A … [Read more...] about Small Call
Imperfect Leaders
Every leader I know, past and present, comes with flaws and failures (myself included, of course). Leaders from past generations have blindspots that make us blush now. Leaders from our day have their own peculiar shortcomings, too. So, how should we think of imperfect leaders? Should we follow them? Do certain imperfections require us to dismiss them altogether? Or, can we retain some leaders as heroes worthy of emulation? If so, who and by what standard? And what about those of us … [Read more...] about Imperfect Leaders
Leadership Development in a Nutshell
A major part of any ministry (or work environment) is leadership development. This task can feel quite overwhelming. We wonder where we should start and how we should proceed. But I recently found a simple description of leadership development that helped clear away the clutter in my mind. This definition boils down leadership development to specific terms and stages I can get my head around. I hope you will find it helpful, too. Ed Stetzer and Warren Bird (2010) cite this summary of … [Read more...] about Leadership Development in a Nutshell
For How Long
I once asked a sound engineer how loud the volume can get before it damages your hearing. He gave me an answer I did not expect. He answered with a question: For how long? For how long? I had never considered time to be a factor, but it is. Damaging your hearing is a matter of decibel level and length of exposure. Volume plus time. What does this have to do with anything? That simple point made me think about all the times I forgot to ask the “for how long” question in my life. … [Read more...] about For How Long
The Key to Good Style
I have so enjoyed Steven Pinker's The Sense of Style. If you are writing books or sermons, blogs or lesson plans, you will greatly benefit from his thoughts on good communication. One particularly poignant section captures the secret to good style in a simple metaphor. Pinker writes: The guiding metaphor of classic style is seeing the world. The writer can see something that the reader has not yet noticed, and he orients the reader's gaze so that she can see it for herself. The purpose … [Read more...] about The Key to Good Style