Tag «Monday/Wednesday Featured»

6 Unique Characteristics of the Best Christian Leaders I’ve Known

I’ve had the privilege of learning from Christian leaders—clergy and laity alike—for almost 50 years. As a seminary professor who teaches courses in leadership, I pay attention when I see leaders who seem uniquely gifted. I offer this list of characteristics today (1) to push myself to evaluate my own life and (2) to challenge…

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10 Insights for Retiring Pastors

With the aging of the Boomer generation, pastors are retiring every day. I hear from a pastor almost every week who has recently retired or is considering retirement. Over the past few years, our conversations have become somewhat predictable and consistent. The questions these pastors have typically revolve around three issues: how do I prepare…

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How to Recover from a Toxic Church and Bounce Back Even Better

When the church causes hurt, it pollutes God’s calling and creates a toxicity that works against the gospel. The goal is to minimize church hurt and maximize church unity. Here is reality. Something will happen in almost every church because ministry includes people. In some cases, the pastor is the cause of the hurt. In…

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Uber Evangelism: Three Lessons

I am close to finishing my second 30-day round of The Hope Initiative. It is a simple process of praying, studying Scripture, and going in one form or another. It is simple obedience to the Great Commission. May I share with you three lessons I have learned about myself in each of these 30-day periods?…

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The Megachurch Movement Is Fading. What’s Next?

Once a church reaches two thousand in weekly attendance, its sheer size becomes a self-generating attraction. Massive facilities, a sprawling campus, and numerous attendees give these large congregations more prominence than other churches. Megachurches receive more media attention than smaller churches. Their physical campuses can dominate their surrounding community. Megachurch pastors tend to have charisma,…

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A Word of Gratitude to Pastors who Share Life with Us

I’m writing today to pastors. We at Church Answers want you to know how grateful we are for you, how honored we are to serve you, and how committed we are to providing tools and resources for you. Your day-to-day, week-to-week faithfulness really is an encouragement to us. More particularly, though, I’m thinking about the…

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The Two Greatest Gifts You Can Give Your Pastor

I am glad October has been designated as Pastor Appreciation Month. While we should appreciate our pastors year-round, it is good to have this reminder to say and do a few kind things for those who serve and lead our churches faithfully. My two pastors happen to be my sons, so I obviously have a…

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Why Every Single Word in the Bible Matters for You Today

All of Scripture is for every part of our lives. Every single word in the Bible is powerful, purposeful, and prescient. Understanding the Bible as a whole is worth your whole effort. Every word in the Bible matters because every minute of your day matters. In Luke’s gospel, we learn that God counts the hairs…

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Pastoral Whiplash Syndrome: Five Causes

The metaphor has changed. For most of my ministry, we often referred to the up and down of pastoral ministry as a roller coaster. It made sense. One day the pastor will celebrate five new believers in Christ. The next day the pastor is met by a long-term church member who is leaving the church…

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It’s Time to Release Churches from the Myth of Infinite Expansion

Every church has limiting factors. No church grows exponentially every year. Infinite expansion isn’t possible. Even the largest churches stay at the top of the list for only about twenty years. Each generation has its own group of biggest congregations or fastest-growing congregations. Compare any lists of the largest churches from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s,…

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