To receive elementals weekly, subscribe here. To download indepth leadership development booklets for discussions with your teams, click here. Yep, they're free.

How the first-century church survived their first few years is remarkable. Today, nearly 50% of startups fail within five years.     Can you imagine these new Jewish believers in Acts 2 wondering how they fit into Temple worship and what to do about required sacrifices? What are the polity, governance, and infrastructure elements of this movement? Remember, no New Testament letter existed yet; their theology was being formed by their experience and whatever they could interpr

In our Inventory process to help churches discover—or rediscover—who they are and their mission, and then chart their future, one of the...

Imagine if God decided to enter our world to communicate with us about this idea of healing an extremely sickly world through an antibody...

In these incredibly divisive, polarized times, pastors are having difficulty navigating these tricky waters.     Nuanced critical...

Recently, the New York Times had a fascinating article about the proliferation of A.I. in the religious space.     According to the report, “tens of millions of people are turning to A.I.-powered religious apps that mimic conversations with clergy—or even God.”   Delphine Collins, a 43-year-old Detroit preschool teacher, who “fled Liberia’s civil war years ago, turned to a spiritual chatbot for comfort. It offered a psalm and said that ‘the Scriptures remind us of God’s power

The danger when leaders put themselves on pedestals.

Every day you are becoming something, whether you’re aware of it or not.   Every conscious decision we make throughout our day is turning...

Way back in 1958, the Boston Red Sox captured headlines with an outrageous signing deal: they held on to Ted Williams in a staggering...

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along,...

You’ve probably seen this before: hold one end of a Slinky, let it stretch out, then let go of it at the top. The effect looks like a...

Check out this survey—the horizontal bars measure the percentage of people with a positive view of churches, Jesus, evangelicals, and...

While on vacation recently, my wife and I checked in on our daughter’s church via video.     She and her husband planted an urban church...

Prior to turning sixty, I could tell I didn’t have the same energy and drive as the previous ten years.     I questioned if I had to do...

Recently, Newsboys’ lead singer Michael Tait was accused of sexual assault by several men who believe they were drugged.    And then more...

What is your reaction to the following quote? “The Mayflower that carried the Pilgrim fathers to religious liberty in America went on her...

Extend me a little grace: this is a diversion from our usual leadership articles.    Then again, leadership can be a squishy thing,...

Does God have a certain kind of music he likes best?    Is it country music? Classical? Or rap? Is he only into pop or R&B? EDM?...

I’ve often found an interesting dynamic in conversations with others about Jesus…and it has to do with family systems.    But actually,...

This past week I spoke at a leadership conference in Würzburg, Germany.    Regrettably, I don’t speak any German, but an amazing...

In my roles in the past, I have been both a worship leader on staff and a senior pastor…in the same church. Both positions had unique...

Next week, I’m heading to Germany to speak at a leadership conference.    They’ve asked me to give five different sessions (!), so I’ve...

Officially established in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson, Mother’s Day was the result of the tireless advocacy of Anna Jarvis to honor...

Recently, I spoke in a church on a curious passage in John’s gospel: the interaction between Jesus and Simon Peter after the...

You are about to have your mind blown.    A few weeks ago, I posted an article called Diagnosing Organizational Diseases , offering a few...