Eight Ways to Improve Your Church “Care Plan”

Loss is hard. Although everyone handles grief differently, I’m convinced that nobody handles it easily. One of the ways that Christ comforts His children is through His body –the church. Romans 12:15 reminds us to “weep with those who weep.” After all, that’s what Jesus did. When His friend Lazarus died, He wept with Mary and Martha …

5 Tips For Cultivating Discipleship In Your Church

1) Pastors should identify the disciple-making that is already happening within their Church. Disciples are being made in every church -the only question is “disciples of what?” Although not all of the discipleship is intentional or profitable, the good news for pastors is that they do not have to create the momentum –it already exists. …

Multiple Hats: 5 Advantages of Bi-Vocational Pastors

Jeff wears multiple hats. He pastors a church and works full-time in the medical field. After a long night shift, Jeff and I met at a local coffee shop. Although I knew he must have been exhausted, the topic of local church ministry brought about an energy and passion to his voice. In the midst of …

5 Ideas For Blessing Your Pastor

Hebrews 13:17 declares, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.“ In other words, don’t take your church leaders for …

Before You Hire The Next Leader

I was reminded recently about the importance of leadership transitions in ministry. Many times a transition in leadership is performed based upon a prospective leader’s credentials, experience, and track record. While all three of these are helpful criteria to consider, there is something missing. The missing ingredient is consideration of the prospect’s philosophy and vision …

Feeding the Sheep to Wolves

I’ve never stood in the midst of a large pasture-tending sheep (the kind that say “baa-baa”). However, I have served as a shepherd of a local church (the kind that say “amen,” “God bless,” and “what time is the pot-luck”). The Bible’s word-picture of the pastor or church leader as a shepherd is powerful. A …

Should I Bring a Charge Against My Pastor?

The office of pastor is to be respected and honored by the church. Yet, these recognized leaders of the church are still humans battling the flesh like everyone else. They are no -and cannot be expected- to be perfect. But what happens when a pastor abuses his power or treats the church in a harmful …

11 Signs of a Monster Pastor

In a previous post, I wrote about “monster churches” in reference to congregations that chew up and spit out pastors on a regular basis. Monster churches are highly dysfunctional and rarely fruitful. The congregation, however, is not always the problem. Just as monster churches are a factory of discord, monster pastors take trouble with them …

How to Kill a Ministry Idea

Few things are as difficult for churches as laying a ministry to rest. Just take a look at the weekly calendar for most churches. Nobody wants to admit defeat. Sometimes a ministry has been fruitful for decades and has simply run its course. What an opportunity to rejoice (at a ministry funeral). Other ministries may …