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 … [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 … [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, … [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 … [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 … [Read more...] about For How Long