Whether you have been in ministry for decades or are just now answering the call, we all wrestle with making difficult decisions on a daily basis that affect our ministries and our personal lives. What has become clear to me more recently is that we aren’t the first church leaders to face these challenges – and we can learn a great deal … Read More
Registration Now Open: New Live Event – Get THE guide to being a pastor in modern times!
Have you ever thought about the lifestyle habits and practices of high-impact pastors throughout church history? How did they manage the demands of ministry, family and schedules – with ALL the responsibilities that we have as pastors? Whether you have been in ministry for decades or are just now answering the call, we all wrestle with making decisions on a daily … Read More
Dr. Towns on Fasting – A Saturday Quote
“The emphasis is not on your begging God to come help you win the battle. No, that’s the wrong emphasis. It’s not even getting God on your side; it’s you getting on God’s side.” – Dr. Elmer Towns
Flogging the Devil – A Saturday Quote
“The preaching of Christ is the whip that flogs the devil. The preaching of Christ is the thunderbolt, the sound of which makes all hell shake.” – Charles Spurgeon
Don’t Assume…
Today’s guest blog comes to us from Karl Vaters, pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, CA. Karl is the author of The Grasshopper Myth: Big Churches, Small Churches and the Small Thinking that Divides Us and is a regular contributor on NewSmallChurch.com. We all make assumptions. I do. You do. And they’re almost always wrong. Especially on complex subjects, … Read More
Why Sunday Should Never Be the First Time You Preach Your Message
It’s Day 1 at the Church Systems Check-up and Boot Camp in Orlando and one of the the things we’re doing live in front of a group of 200+ attendees is a message run-through. We’re literally running through this Sunday’s message – rehearsing it ahead of time to get feedback and make changes well before Sunday. Why do we do this? For the same reason that actors … Read More
My Top Fall Sermons – All Half Off!
Fall will be here before you know it – so today with our HALF OFF Fall Sermons Sale I’m encouraging you to start planning NOW. It’s an interesting thing we do as pastors – preparing a sermon every seven days. I have a lot of motivational speaker friends who only have to develop one or two speeches a year, but we have to … Read More
The Power of Vacation: Keeping Your Tank Full
Like most pastors, you may struggle when it comes to planning your time away. In my early years of church planting, when I was bivocational, I was greatly challenged in this area until I discovered the power of taking some extended time off. Though the word “vacation” is not found in the Bible, there’s nothing unspiritual about taking a vacation. … Read More
Understanding what Jesus Said About Finances
Today’s blog comes to us from my friend and stewardship mentor Steve Stroope as an excerpt from his book, Money Matters in Church: A Practical Guide for Leaders. Steve is lead pastor of the multi-campus Lake Pointe Church near Dallas, Texas. Under his leadership, the congregation has grown from 57 members in 1980 to a current attendance of more than … Read More
Dr. Bob Whitesel: How to Read John Wesley’s Sermons
The following post is from my good friend and John Wesley authority, Dr Bob Whitesel. I had the tremendous privilege of traveling with him on a UK tour to study the “Footsteps of John Wesley.” This immersion was so powerful that I invited Dr. Whitesel to speak for a half day on the church growth principles of John Wesley (we … Read More