Jump Starting Your Discipleship, Part 1

“We desperately need more leaders working in our church today,” the minister of education complained at the Monday morning staff meeting at First Baptist Everywhere Church. “You are right on target; we’re burning out the 20% that are doing 80% of the church’s work,” chimed in the youth pastor. “My…

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Farewell

Today I say farewell as the writer of 28Nineteen. On November 2, 2008, I will assume the Senior Pastor position at the First Baptist Church of Shelbyville, Kentucky. My family and I are very excited about our new assignment from the Lord. Read about our move in this Kentucky Baptist…

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Healthy Church, Part 2

Have you ever thought about what makes a church healthy? In our last post, we mentioned that two ingredients in a healthy church are UNITY and DIVERSITY. Although diverse people from various walks of life usually make up a church, they can still be unified through the Holy Spirit. In…

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Healthy Church, Part 1

I have been a pastor for eighteen years in the state of Kentucky. In my current role with the Kentucky Baptist Convention, I travel around the state and work with churches of all shapes and sizes. In my travels, I’ve seen and heard of churches I would describe as “healthy”…

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Training Opportunities

This past Saturday at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, the Kentucky Baptist Convention offered a variety of great training opportunities. If you missed the event, similar training is being offered at five other locations across the state. One of the discipleship faculty was Tim Holcomb, Director of Discipleship…

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Common Leadership Traps

I recently read an article by Rick Warren called, Seven Errors to Avoid if You Want Your Ministry to Last. The title got my attention, and as usual, Rick hit the nail squarely on the head. Rick wrote, “A lot of ministries begin with a bang, then explode with new growth.…

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Sleeping Is Spiritual

Discouragement is a deadly disease that’s not only universal, but also highly contagious. Have you ever noticed that when you hang around with someone who’s discouraged, you get discouraged yourself? But discouragement is also curable! Veteran Dodger Bill Russell once said, “Winners – pros – never give up in a slump. They…

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Why Should I Forgive

One of the most gifted writers of our day is Max Lucado. He has churned out book after book with creativity and professionalism. For a while, I read all that he wrote, but eventually I could not keep up with his pace. Of the books I’ve read, my favorite is The Applause of Heaven. …

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Rainer’s Four Legs of Assimilation

When Dr. Tom Rainer served as Dean of the Billy Graham School at Southern Seminary in Louisville, he ran a consulting company that helped churches across America. In his consultations, he discovered that the overwhelming majority of the churches needed marked improvement in the area of assimilation. As a result,…

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Get Lost, Part 2

Yesterday, I shared part of an article from David Francis, LifeWay Director of Sunday School. In the article he takes a humorous approach to the topic of assimilation by talking about ways to make guests feel unwelcome. Instead of discussing ways to attract and keep guests, he lists ways to make…

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