It has been a joy to post a few blogs over the last four years about discipleship, assimilation, church growth and a few random thoughts. Serving Kentucky Baptists has been a privilege and a great learning experience. I am very grateful for the opportunity. Here are ten significant thoughts I…
Do you have fear when you think about the future or confidence and hope? Many people I talk with today including church leaders look in despair toward the future. None of us can predict the future. Often someone will have a minute of fame by being on the news or…
As I write this blog I am spending the night with my 90 year old Mom in the old house where I grew up. My Dad and his brothers and sisters (eight of them) were all born in this very house. I am doing an interim pastorate near where my…
Rick Ezell has written a great article called 5 Must-Know Facts about First-Time Guests. Church leaders need to be aware of these five significant facts about first-time guests looking for a church home. It has been my experience that churches that are growing pay lots of attention to folks who…
Lots of bloggers including yours truly have written thousands of blogs on the issue of assimilation, which is how we keep the people we reach. How do we create a climate of hospitality that causes people to desire to come back after they visit? How do we get people really…
Anyone who has ever picked up a guitar has heard of the late, great Chet Atkins. He is a guitar legend. In many ways he helped popularize the guitar like no one else. He played a style that many of us have sought to copy called “finger or thumb style”…
We often quote the stat that 85% of all churches today are in a plateau or decline. That means that only @15% of churches are having any type of measurable growth. This is a disturbing statistic. What about your church? Over the last five years what has happened in the…
As a pastor I studied each church I served to see what we could do to grow and reach more people for Christ. One of the things we attempted to do was to define where the walls were that were stopping growth and then we attempted to move them one…
I grew up with Kodak. They made all the film that we used to take our family pictures. At one time they were one of the leading companies in the world. I was greatly surprised to hear recently of the company’s bankruptcy filing. A Judge in New York is giving…
Easter is coming. Are you ready? Will you make a great first impression? Review these tips and plan to do so: Found People Find People! Invite someone to attend with you on Easter Sunday. People are very receptive to attend church on Easter so think about a neighbor, work associate,…
Two encounters are critical. First, the leader encounters God in His Word and is changed. Second, the leader guides the group to have a life-changing encounter.