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Am I an Interpreter?
This past week I spoke at a leadership conference in Würzburg, Germany. Regrettably, I don’t speak any German, but an amazing...
Jun 19, 20253 min read
Top 5 Reasons People Aren’t Worshipping
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...
May 31, 20253 min read
Lost In Translation (Again)
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...
May 29, 20252 min read
The Problem With Mother’s Day
Officially established in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson, Mother’s Day was the result of the tireless advocacy of Anna Jarvis to honor...
May 26, 20252 min read
When Leaders Fail
Recently, I spoke in a church on a curious passage in John’s gospel: the interaction between Jesus and Simon Peter after the...
May 12, 20252 min read
Two Robots Meet in a Podcast Studio...
You are about to have your mind blown. A few weeks ago, I posted an article called Diagnosing Organizational Diseases , offering a few...
Apr 29, 20252 min read
The Big Surprise
It was the biggest Easter egg hunt I had ever seen in Augusta, Kentucky. The yard in front of high school stretching from the double...
Apr 25, 20253 min read
De-Cluttering…and Choice-Making
Back in the day when I actually used paper (I’ve been essentially paperless for over two decades), I would periodically end up with...
Apr 20, 20253 min read
Diagnosing Organizational Diseases
Last week I came down with a nasty flu bug. The kind where you pitch your tent close to the bathroom. Where you shiver uncontrollably...
Apr 14, 20252 min read
Perfect Takes Practice
It is one of the most troubling statements of Jesus: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is.” Is he kidding? In Malcolm...
Apr 7, 20253 min read
When Your Passion Burns Out
At one point in my leadership at our church, we were internally going through some really difficult times. Let me count the ways… For...
Apr 1, 20253 min read
Are We Noticing God?
Have you ever bought a car and suddenly started noticing the same model everywhere? Maybe you even started flashing your lights on the...
Mar 22, 20252 min read
Are You Launching Nonprofits?
When we first started The Elemental Group, there was one driving goal: to help churches get healthier and more effective. That was it. ...
Mar 11, 20253 min read
What Is Your Weakest Element?
In the Elemental Leaders book, we identified four crucial elements that were maximized in every healthy and effective church we studied....
Mar 10, 20253 min read
But Wait...There's More!
I’ve never done this in our 280(!) posts. Seriously. So give me a little grace. This is a commercial. Sort of. After pastoring at the...
Feb 25, 20253 min read
Leading a Polarized Church
In my meetings with pastors, the current polarized political climate often comes up in our conversations along with how negatively it has...
Feb 21, 20253 min read
Money and Prophets
Buckle up, leaders, this one is going to be a little different. I recently read Brooke Harrington’s excellent book Offshore: Stealth...
Feb 13, 20253 min read
What Our Choices Say
Just prior to his death, Moses addressed the nation of Israel. They were about to enter into some real estate that God had promised...
Feb 4, 20253 min read
Paul, Jack...and Centeredness
I just finished a fascinating audiobook: Malcolm Gladwell interviewing Paul Simon about his songwriting processes in Miracle and Wonder. ...
Jan 26, 20252 min read
What’s Your Church’s First Impression?
Check out the short video above to get your neurons firing about what you do on Sunday morning. Simply put: Are You Rolling Out the Red...
Jan 14, 20251 min read
When Consultants Go Bad
It’s been over eleven years since I stepped down from leading a church that I had been a part of for nearly thirty years. Over those...
Jan 6, 20253 min read
Pain & Possibilities
Not for nothing—and I really don’t know what that phrase means—here’s a list of things I won’t take part in: 1. Roleplaying in...
Dec 31, 20242 min read
Simplify Christmas
Church leaders, I am empathizing with you: we are in the final throes of the Christmas whirlwind. The story is simple, but the context...
Dec 30, 20242 min read
Church Matter
Do you and your church really matter? A quote that has haunted me for years in my work with churches goes like this: “Are you the...
Dec 10, 20242 min read
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