In some town you’ve never heard of at some church that will never headline, a psalmist writes beautiful poetry to God. At some small camp, dusty and dirty, old and wooden, an amateur magician delights kids and shares the Gospel. In a rural county, a single lady with no children, over a lifetime, disciples hundreds of children. At some ministry faraway, a no-named … [Read more...] about Saints Everywhere
ministry
Why Church Planting
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
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