Failing to Adapt to the Changing Community
A Changing Community
The seasoned deacon stopped in his tracks and turned to me with a frustrated glance. It had been a contentious deacon’s meeting where we discussed new outreach methods, the worship service, and the decline in Sunday School att…
Redeeming Your Time in Ministry: Learning From My Failure
I wasn’t managing my time well. What’s worse is that it was beginning to show. It was early in my ministry, and I had a tiger by the tail. I was still leading the youth ministry, teaching a senior adult Sunday School class, leading a Wednesday mor…
Don’t Pastor Alone
In two separate conversations I’ve recently had with individuals involved in replanting a dying church, pastoral moral failure emerged as a significant factor contributing to the church’s decline. Similarly, in another conversation, an affinity gr…
Reframing Conflict
None of us like conflict. If you like conflict, then you better quit being a pastor. As pastors, most of us want to avoid conflict. Like the plague.
If we have a problem with somebody in our church or know there are two people who are arguing or f…
Parenting With the End in Mind
Parenting is tough, and it’s even tougher when you don’t have a plan. Perhaps this is why the mother was so torn. Her family had been active in our church for almost eight years, but their child had started a new school and made new friends who a…
FREE RESOURCE: Navigating Alignment in Church Adoptions
Replanting often involves adoption: A healthy church enters a conversation with a declining church so that two congregations, each with different stories, can prayerfully unite to reach a community for the glory of God.
Let’s say, for example, Red…
Replanting as a Family
When I was twelve years old, I saw down in the living room with my mom, dad, brother, and sister. My dad was having a family pow-wow with us, and it seemed important. “Kids,” he said,” Me and your mother love you all. And I want you to know that G…
Three Steps to Powerful Prayer in Your Church
A quote from Martin Luther hung in my grandparent’s bedroom when I was younger. It said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” I remember thinking how backward that seemed to me at the time. If you have so m…
How Christians Engage with the Public Square
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia: the fear of public places.
This term is normally used when someone is afraid to go into public due to an anxiety disorder. But the word, “Agoraphobia” is associated with ancient Greek culture due to its origin. “Agora” tr…
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