Pages

▼
Thursday, April 19, 2018

Entice the lapsed or reward the faithful?

›
Ministry is made up of tensions to manage. One such tension is that which exists between those who are in attendance and those who aren...
Saturday, April 7, 2018

The difference between dropping your kid off to a birthday party and youth group

›
Lately it's been the season for children's birthday parties. Up until this weekend, the last month's weekends have been punctuat...
Wednesday, April 4, 2018

"We" vs Ideal "we"

›
Far too often, when I read things written by churches, usually from staff members, which describe their church or ministry they struggle wit...
Monday, April 2, 2018

Do you fat-shame people about their prayers?

›
Prayer is a tricky thing. We wonder how you should do it? How often? What should pray for? Does God always hear our prayers? How earne...
Sunday, March 25, 2018

How to cut off a service hijacker?

›
What do you do, if leading a church service, it gets hijacked? I'm not talking about terrorists or a gun-toting-crazy... I'm talk...
Friday, March 16, 2018

Communion should have crumbs

›
Communion comes in many forms. The minister and church's theology of communion will shape this form. If you fall into the category ...
Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Giving vs Stewardship

›
Last week I led a bible study about stewardship and the topic got me thinking about the difference between stewardship and giving. In shor...
Sunday, March 11, 2018

There should be a guarantee to sit in the chair for 18 months

›
Leadership positions within a church transition. Senior ministers. Assistant minister. Youth ministers. Children's ministry workers...
Wednesday, February 28, 2018

How do you deal with the perpetual eager starter?

›
I've seen the following displayed across all ages, but it's especially true for younger believers... What do you do with the beli...
Sunday, February 25, 2018

God's graceful repetitiveness

›
Sermons. Blog posts. Bible studies. Conversations. Videos. Over the last few months, regularly, I've been bumping up against the s...
Tuesday, February 20, 2018

The sermon only needs to be a chapter, not the entire book

›
"You preached two or three really good sermons. It's just a shame you delivered them all at once." I've received  this f...
Friday, February 16, 2018

Would you be part of a heaven-free Christianity?

›
Sometimes I like to ask loud questions which you're not meant to ask. A few days ago I asked if the group I was with, all believers, w...
Tuesday, February 13, 2018

What's the message of your bible reading?

›
Depending on your traditions and theology, the placement and execution of the bible reading will send a message. Is it only done by men? O...
Sunday, February 11, 2018

The intimidating butts in the pews

›
Your parents. Your siblings. Your spouse. Your kids. The partner of one of your children. Your theology lecturer.  Your first or most ...
Thursday, February 8, 2018

Non-ministry prayers

›
In ministry, prayer is fairly easy. Well, about as easy as it can get. You have other people to pray for. You have activities to pray ab...
Monday, February 5, 2018

Why making a video would have been stupid for me

›
Videos. They are cool. They make notices far more palatable. They provide excellent hype. And, in all my years of ministry, I never ma...
Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Would the need to poop ever be a sermon stopper?

›
I mentioned in my pre-sermon checklist the importance to poop before you preach. No one wants to be, at worst, uncomfortable while speaking....
Sunday, January 28, 2018

Praying for the new academic year

›
This morning at church the service leader did something I can't recall happening during a service I've attended and something I'...
Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Giving a leg-up in open prayer

›
Awkward silences. These can happen during church services. Some are due to the moving of the Spirit when convicting people of their pers...
Monday, January 22, 2018

The departure video shouldn't be a eulogy.

›
Due to life stage and vocation transitions I've farewelled a number of churches.  Over the last few decades I've seen a lot of othe...