5 Ways to Avoid Being a Pathologically Disappointed Pastor
In my first pastorate, I wanted to get a pulse on how our congregation felt about the direction and progress we were making as a church.
A mentor suggested I hand out index cards during a business meeting and on one side, ask people to write down three things they were excited about with the church, and on the other side, write one thing they wish was different.
5 Questions to Ask When You’re Short on Volunteers
I recently took an informal poll asking church leaders I knew to name the top two or three challenges they’re currently facing in ministry. Overwhelmingly, leaders identified recruiting volunteers as their No. 1 problem.
For those in church leadership, this doesn’t come as a surprise. In my nearly 20 years of ministry, finding volunteers has always been a constant struggle.
5 Benefits to Bivocational Ministry
In many Christian circles, bivocational ministry is viewed as serving in the minor leagues. Few seminary graduates are excited about taking a part-time position at a small, rural church or one in the inner city.
A quick search for the word “pastors” in Amazon’s book category reveals more than 30,000 resources. When you search for “bivocational pastors,” however, the list shrinks to 23. Likewise, there are few degree programs or conferences aimed at equipping bivocational pastors.
7 Lies About Discipleship and What To Do About Them
Discipleship is a buzzword right now. In the past 15 years, I’ve seen a growing emphasis on the need for disciple-making churches.
My state convention has even adopted it as our primary focus, “A disciple-making church for every person.” After all, disciple-making is the very heart of the Great Commission.
8 Ways to Impact Your Community By Blessing Local Schools
There are many ways for a church to have a lasting impact on its local community. Perhaps one of the most profound ways is through local schools.
In Las Cruces, New Mexico, where I live, the local school system has nearly 25,000 students and 3,200 employees. When you factor in parents and grandparents of students, local schools connect with more than half of our population of 101,000 people.
5 Ways to Get to Know Your Community
My first Easter as a lead pastor saw a standing room only crowd. We had to set up chairs in the foyer and leave the auditorium doors open to accommodate the number of people we had that Sunday.
The next year, we were better-prepared…sort of. We decided to do two services on Sunday morning because we were anticipating a similar, if not larger, crowd than the previous year.