The Justice of Community
Jesus the Son told His disciples, “The poor you will have with you always.” God the Father told Israel, “There will be no poor among...
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- Jun 13
- 3 min
Jesus, Miracles, & Serving
Servanthood is central to the work of the church simply because it was central to the work of Jesus. Jesus’ ministry included two types...
- Jun 5
- 3 min
The Missionary Position
Yeah, I’m sorry about that title. And I'm really sorry about that picture. But it did make you look. In our last post, I talked about...
- May 30
- 3 min
What Churches Will Survive?
Let me lay my cards on the table by stating a central belief I have about the local church: it must be outward-focused if it is to...
- Apr 11
- 3 min
How Do We Learn?
When I was pastoring, getting sick was disastrous…especially when it happened at the last minute and you’re speaking the next day in four...
- Feb 14
- 3 min
21st Century Foot Washing
Years ago when I was pastoring, we had a group of people who would go to a particular place where the homeless in Cincinnati would meet...
- Nov 22, 2022
- 2 min
What's Your Attitude Indicator?
So here’s an idea as we move into the Thanksgiving holiday… Paul’s short letter to the Philippian church underscored his belief that...
- Oct 4, 2022
- 3 min
Let's Talk About Church Consultants...
Yeah, I know, I know. It’s a tacky mashup of Pixar and Peanuts. But the point is: do we really need “church consultants”? I have to admit...
- Sep 27, 2022
- 3 min
Are Apologetics Dead?
Don’t get me wrong: apologetics are important. From the launch of the Church in Acts 2, Christians have proclaimed the uniqueness of...
- Aug 16, 2022
- 3 min
Ron Sider, Justice & Generosity
Recently I learned of Ron Sider’s death at 82 from sudden cardiac arrest. Fifteen years ago I had him speak at our church and took him...
- Jun 27, 2022
- 2 min
Part 2: How (and How Not!) to Recruit Volunteers
In our last post, we talked about some best practices for recruiting volunteers. With many churches operating with less people...
- Jun 20, 2022
- 3 min
How (and How Not!) to Recruit Volunteers
In our post-pandemic world of lower in-person church attendance (averaging about half of what it was pre-Covid), many are left with...
- Jun 14, 2022
- 2 min
How Big Is The Church?
Play along with me for a minute and let’s use our imagination. If a twenty-something artist named Michelangelo could create something as...
- Apr 19, 2022
- 2 min
Is Your Church Afraid of Change?
Over the years that we’ve worked with churches, it’s been our observation that of the four critical elements of healthy, effective...
- Mar 23, 2022
- 2 min
What's Your Leadership Perspective?
I recently came across a fascinating geographical factoid. The writer at The Acadian Ideal overlayed the Mediterranean Sea map on top of...
- Jan 17, 2022
- 3 min
The Danger of Moderation
I’m writing this on MLK Day. The non-violent protests for voting rights in the 1960’s, particularly in Alabama, had raised the ire of...
- Dec 21, 2021
- 2 min
The Incarnational Leader
Sometime back I got an email from a church describing their discipleship pathway. They were particularly focused on “skeptics”. The way...
- Dec 7, 2021
- 2 min
“Values, meet Strategy.”
In the early days of our church, founding pastor Steve Sjogren coined a simple phrase for people to use in basic “servant evangelism”...
- Nov 23, 2021
- 2 min
A Different Kind of Thanks/Giving
Here in the States we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving this week. Forget the pilgrims and corn—let’s just talk about the concept of...
- Aug 17, 2021
- 2 min
Tidy Church Litter
The church has always struggled with the tension between evangelism and holiness. I have friends who say when it comes to evangelism,...
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