I had a conversation with a ministry leader today about the need for discipleship in the local church and the inability of some leaders to free themselves of the shackles of the 80’s and 90’s nightmare called “The Church Growth Movement.” I told them the story of sitting in a Team 500 meeting of the … More Confusing Effects for Foundations
Tuesday is for Thinking It was almost two decades ago. I was attending a local pastors forum. Around the circle were 40 pastors, almost all of whom cared for congregations of between 500 and 1,000 regular worship attenders. Sprinkled in among them were two or three “mega church” pastors. The idea was to learn from … More Your Local Church is Gone. Would Anyone Notice?
Why write this post? I could give more, but I will limit myself to five reasons. I know of too many good men who have been forced out of positions for non-biblical reasons. In my ministry to pastors, I have felt and seen the pain and devastation of these men and their families due to … More Forced Exits – Musical Pulpits
Case Study Aging Church Living Grace has a paid for building in a highly visible location and a lot of cash in hand due to a large bequest of a deceased member. Their facility is attractive inside and out; their theology is reformed; their ministry is solidly Bible and Gospel centric; their pastor has lasted … More Case Study for an Aging Congregation
“God does not measure success in the same way we do. It is often through what appears to be the greatest human failures and tragedies that God is most directly at work bringing about his sovereign purposes for his church and for us.” Rethinking the Successful Church, by Samuel d. Rima, p. 58 Too many … More Too Many Churches Are Pursuing the Wrong Measures of Success
That would be us. I am meeting with a group of fellow pastors for the next three days struggling together to become better pastors and leaders for the cause of Christ. One pastor had a particularly thorny issue that he is embroiled in and was seeking wisdom. One by one different pastors asked questions, made … More A Generation that Lost a Vision for Prayer
Just for Fun Hilarious Video of a Mic-ed Up 4-Year-Old Learning to Skate and Play Ice Hockey Go get your wife or husband; blow it up full-screen, turn up the speakers and sit back and have a good laugh! Politics, Culture and Worldview Christians and Socialism, How Should We Think? This is a collection … More Weekend Links to Make You Laugh and Cry
Just for Fun Farmers Rock! My four years in central Illinois gave me a great love and appreciation for farmers. Even though they were finished with me after four years, they will always be in my heart. So it was fun to run across this tonight. For the Eagles fans! Politics and Culture Ruth … More Farmers Rock; Ruth Ginsburg, Horrible Christian movies; and much more.
Part 2 An excerpt from, an essay I wrote in 2009 for the John Fuder and Noel Castellanos book, A HEART FOR THE COMMUNITY: NEW MODELS FOR URBAN AND SUBURBAN MINISTRY. Discussion and critique invited. See yesterday’s post for part 1. My Journey I grew up as a teenager in the idealistic and embryonic dawning of … More Ending Racism with Counter-culture Gospel Ministry: Part 2
Friday Musings “The discipling process seeks to deliver people, develop them, and deploy them into the harvest field. Making disciples is the only way to develop healthy Christians who reproduce themselves in their own home area.” —Bill Hull, p. 13 The Disciple Making Church It is simple. The church is to make disciples. If … More Deliver, Develop, Deploy to Change the World
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