What is Obvious About Your Church?

The church is called to make disciples. I think most of us would agree on that. Further, I think we would all agree that we are called to make disciples of all nations (people groups). From this perspective, you would assume that every church would have obvious and overt practices, plans, and opportunities for all …

How I Prepare Sermons

Recently, some of my preacher friends have participated in an online discussion of how to prepare sermons. I really enjoyed reading their insights and decided to jot down a few of my own thoughts. For those of you who are preachers, hopefully these words will be beneficial in your own preparation. I would certainly love …

How’s Your Service?

Customer Service. Has anybody heard of it? Apparently not the young lady at the store where I bought my groceries today. She talked to her friend the entire time she was scanning my items. Even worse, she would stop scanning items to look her friend in the eyes occasionally (her communications skills far exceed her …

Avoid Hiring a Staff Infection

In most cases, your church’s hiring practices will have major ramifications that reach beyond your awareness. It’s not just a matter of whether a candidate can do the job or not. The real impact of your hiring decision will be seen in: How they interact with your church members Whether they make the people around …

What Your Pastor’s Sermon Really Needs

I love 1 Corinthians 1:20-25. In it, Paul makes a great case for why we need the Holy Spirit to draw men unto Christ when we present the Gospel message. Paul starts the passage by calling out all of the intellectuals, scholars and academics asking, “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” …

Tension in the Church

What is your goal for unbelievers who visit your church? Do you have one? Hopefully your church has thought about this issue and communicated clear intentions regarding visiting unbelievers. In I Corinthians 14, the apostle Paul addressed the need to think strategically about how your church ministers to believers vs. “unbelievers” and “outsiders” (I Cor. …

Churches Discipling Churches

The church where I formerly pastored, Wyatt Baptist Church of El Dorado, Arkansas, is one of the most mission-minded churches I know of. Every year they send a large percentage of church members around the world in partnership with various missionaries. One of the missionary families they partner with is Oscar and Tamy Gaitan of …

What “We’ve always done it that way” really means.

“We’ve always done it that way.” There is a certain stereotype in the minds of pastors and church leaders when they hear that phrase. The stereotype I am referring to is of an out-of-touch, die-hard, traditional, older member who can’t see the ridiculous nature of basing decisions mindlessly upon patterns of behavior in the past. …

Don’t Hesitate to Ask

Before a church calls a new pastor, they will spend time interviewing him. The logistics vary from church to church, but eventually the pastoral candidate will find himself sitting with a search team, personnel committee, deacon body, or something similar. Without fail, the representatives of the church will have important questions for the candidate. But …

Major League Qualifications

I remember a few years ago when a major league baseball player was fined by his team for statements that he made in public. Radio talk shows discussed the matter for several days. Some callers ranted about the right to free speech while others pointed out the employer’s right to set rules for his employee’s …