If you are reading this you probably know a little bit about motorcycles. I love to ride my C-50 Suzuki. OK it’s not a Harley Davidson but it runs great and is paid for! On most afternoons I ride the country roads of Shelby County. On weekends I sometimes ride…
Could it be that churches (we as leaders) are chasing after the next fad, and attempting to stay on the cutting edge to such a degree that we are failing to do the basics well? Could it be that we are so busy attending conferences and reading the latest “how…
The stats are in. We can choose to ignore them, bury our heads in the sand, or see reality and move forward. The 2010 Annual Church Profile showed dips in baptisms, total church membership, worship attendance and participation in Sunday school and other Christian education programs. Declines were also reported…
Charles Arn is the president of Church Growth Inc. and has done extensive research to discover why people come back to a church after visiting. He says that the number one reason people return for a second time is because the church was friendly. Most of us would assume that…
You have probably heard on the national news that there are billboards proclaiming the end of the world. They read “Judgment Day May 21” and then reads, “The Bible Guarantees It.” There are 1,200 such billboards in the US and 2,000 in other countries. I also understand this group has…
In a recent blog Dr. Thom Rainer listed 10 warning signs for churches from his years of consulting. If a church had four or more of these signs present, he would let the leadership know that remedial efforts were in order. If six or more signs were present, then he became…
Step 1. Refine Your Vision/Dream/Goal Every church needs a clear vision for disciple-making. Your vision needs to be articulated and shared. What’s your vision/dream/goal for making disciples in your church? God gives us His vision as we spend time with Him and His Word. Wise leaders plan times to be…
I know most of us are wiped out from Easter Sunday. Many churches did an extra worship in order to reach more people. In all of my pastorates we added one or two worship times and saw the highest attendance of the year. With all the special preparation for sermons,…
Something is happening across the cultural landscape in our country and these six changes should wake us up. Barna analyzed insights drawn from more than 5,000 non-proprietary interviews conducted over 11 months. 1. The Christian Church is becoming less theologically literate. 2. Christians are becoming more ingrown and less outreach-oriented.…
You may have read this study by Barna, but I think it is worth examining again as we try to reverse the tide of the declining effectiveness of our churches on the culture. We’ve looked at four now the fifth one. 5. The postmodern insistence on tolerance is winning over…
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.
In John 13:34-35, three times Jesus said, “Love one another.” Your group is the ideal place to practice and launch the kind of love for one another that shows the world that we are His disciples.