How important is it to you personally that your church continue to have positive impact for future generations? How confident do you feel that your church is effectively reaching (or will continue to effectively reach) the next generation—those who are younger than the average age of your community? What indicators […]
Every one of us at one point or another will have to stand and face our Goliath. The moment you decide to step out of the crowd and follow Christ not only as a disciple but to publicly declare the message of the cross, you enter a battle zone. There […]
I became something else, something other than what I naturally would have become, by becoming an evangelical pastor. Do not underestimate the difficulty of the task. While I generally agree with evangelical theology, I am at odds with the evangelical subculture and its version of holiness. The office of pastor […]
We’re not just wanting to keep Christians happy and growing. We aren’t attempting to lure believers from other churches by having glitzier services and better programs. We’re starting with hard-core skeptics and trying to transform them into zealously committed disciples of Jesus. And that’s really hard! To be truthful, most […]
Pain Point 1: Fatigued Leaders The temptation is to start with questions that set a bare minimum: How few leaders can we have and still keep the doors open? Is there a way for us to lower what we expect of those who work with kids? Will children really notice […]
Many people process from unbelief to faith through “mini-decisions.” We hold to the classic teaching about the nature of the gospel: to be a Christian is to be united with Christ by faith so that the merits of his saving work become ours and his Spirit enters us and begins […]
