The Value of Application in Preaching

The following guest post comes to us from Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church. Rick is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life. He is also the founder of Pastors.com, a global internet community for pastors. Many preachers believe the purpose of preaching is to explain the Bible, or to interpret the text, or to help … Read More


Nelson SearcyLeadership, Ministry

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Rick Warren on How to Structure Your Church for Ministry

A couple of weeks ago, I shared 10 of the books that have had an impact on my life and leadership (click here to see the list) and The Purpose Driven Church held a prominent spot in that list. Most of you know that I had the privilege of serving on staff with Rick Warren at Saddleback before starting The … Read More


Nelson SearcyMinistry

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Church Systems and the Concentric Circles

The Purpose Driven Church is one of those “must have” books that every pastor should have on his bookshelf (like all of mine – ha!). One of the paradigm-shifting concepts that Rick Warren shared with the church leadership world in this book is the “Concentric Circles” that help us visualize how people move step by step from the community into … Read More


Nelson SearcyChurch Systems - General

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Bad Economy + Bad Decisions = Disaster

I continue to hear of a lot of pastors and church leaders making bad decisions because the economy is bad. If you make bad decisions when the economy is good, you may be able to ride it out with minimal effects.  But if you make bad decisions when the economy is bad, disaster is almost certain. Before you make any … Read More


Nelson SearcyStewardship

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Top Posts for September 2008

Blog readership for September increased by over 25% – mainly thanks to your links and some positive press in the Rick Warren Ministry ToolBox.  Here’s the most popular posts for the month (in case you missed them): The “One Month” Perspective Successful Church Planters Must Be Able to Recruit a Worship Leader Where There’s Slack There’s Lack – Part 8 … Read More


Nelson SearcyMisc

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Lessons Learned From Rick Warren – Lesson #4

Lesson #4 – Don’t Be Afraid To Fail Rick used to tell us, “If you aren’t failing at least once a day, you aren’t trying hard enough.” I’ve heard Woody Allen put it like this, “If you don’t fail now and again, it’s a sign you are playing it safe.” Notice that the difference between Rick and Woody comes in … Read More


Nelson SearcyLeadership

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Lessons Learned From Rick Warren – Lesson #3

Lesson #3 – You Are Blessed To Be A Blessing   Rick taught me The Principle of Generosity. This principle states that you are blessed to be a blessing. God wants to work through you. He wants the blessings He pours into your life and ministry to flow out of you and bless others. Picture a living river, being fed … Read More


Nelson SearcyLeadership, Stewardship

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Lessons Learned From Rick Warren – Lesson #2

Lesson #2: Evangelism Must Always Be Our Priority When I was working at Saddleback Church with Rick Warren, I heard him say time and time again, “As long as there is one unchurched person in the Saddleback Valley, we must keep reaching out as a church.” Rick understands the importance of making evangelism a priority, or as I like to … Read More


Nelson SearcyEvangelism, Uncategorized

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Monday Proflections May 18 2008

This post is earlier than normal because I have a 6:05am flight into Orange County (I hate getting up early but I love getting an early start and avoiding the LaGuardia delays!).  This is a big week for Church Leader Insights as Roy is rolling out my NEW Time Management for Busy Pastors resource (no link yet, watch your email … Read More


Nelson SearcyMisc

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