Three Reasons I’m Looking Forward to #sbcam18

With all the controversy surrounding this year’s annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, I have seriously considered cancelling my hotel reservations and staying home. With each new “revelation” and Twitter storm, I have thought it might be emotionally easier to skip the trip to Dallas. After all, a 15-hour drive, wall-to-wall...

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2 Differences Leaders Build Together

If you’ve dealt with people at all, it’s not an earth-shattering revelation to recognize that people are different. We all come from different backgrounds, upbringings and value systems. And as your relationships begin to expand beyond your own culture, those differences can seem magnified. In the local church, Jesus called us to...

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Closing the Loop - 2 More Keys to Effective Communication

When thinking about clear communication, it’s tempting to put all the emphasis on the sender. But in reality, the onus for communication is on the receiver as much as the sender. It reminds me of the old saying about leadership. If a leader thinks he’s leading and no one is following, he’s just taking a walk. In the same way, if you think...

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2 Keys to Being an Effective Communicator

Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in the concept of leadership that we begin to mystify it. It’s very easy to think that developing leadership skills is for somebody else. But in reality, each of us uses the tools of leadership every day. The things that make better leaders also make better husbands, wives, parents, co-workers, students...

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3 Things to Do Before You Plan for Revitalization

It’s very easy to look at the condition of many churches and see the need for revitalization. When attendance is down, baptisms are down, and kingdom impact is down, revitalization is needed. Blaming society or culture is a non-productive cop-out.   As leaders in our local churches, God has given us a mission and it’s our...

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4 Steps to Overcome Opposition

The only sure way to avoid opposition in life is to never do anything worth opposing. But Jesus has called us to more than that. When he calls us to new life in him, he also calls us to bring new life to our neighbors and the nations. As we begin to do that, our local churches will begin to experience revitalization. And as we do, we will...

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3 Kinds of Opposition to Church Revitalization

In life, there’s only one way to avoid facing opposition—just don’t do anything. Even elementary school science students understand that every action is met with an equal but opposite reaction. Why should we expect anything different as we revitalize our churches? Opposition can come in many forms. I have distilled it down to primarily...

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6 Ways to Prepare Your Church for Revitalization

According to recent research by LifeWay president Thom Rainer, over 90% of evangelical churches are either in decline or failing to keep up with the growth rate of their communities. In other words, we are rapidly losing ground. In order to take back some of that ground, most churches are in need of some level of revitalization.  Revitalization...

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Does God Really Hear Me?

Our God is a personal God. And as a personal God, He will hear you when you call out to Him. When you trust Jesus as your Lord and Master and Savior, He opens up the lines of communication between you and your creator. When you turn from your sins in repentance and turn to Jesus in faith—He becomes your high priest, your mediator,...

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Top Four Reasons I Love Being a Pastor

After spending the past two and a half years as a denominational servant, this is my second week “back in the saddle” of pastoring a local church. I have to tell you, the honeymoon is wonderful! But regardless how long the honeymoon period lasts, I love being a pastor. Being a pastor isn’t always easy. If it was, God wouldn’t have...

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