I had a blast yesterday on the Improve the Financial Fitness of Your Church Webinar with my friend and coach Steve Stroope. Steve is the Lead Pastor of the 10,000+ member Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, Texas, co-author of Money Matters in Church with Aubrey Malphurs, and one of the nation’s experts on church finances, capital campaigns and stewardship in … Read More
Overcoming the Myth of “That Will Never Work Here”
One of the greatest obstacles to your church growing, thriving and reaching its “full redemptive potential” is a short, 6-word phrase that has led to the plateau and ultimate decline of many a church: That will never work here because… If only I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that statement over the years – it’s normally followed … Read More
How Big Days are Igniting Church Growth
Since my latest book, Ignite, came out, it’s been exciting to see how God has used it to help all sorts of different churches, in all sorts of different areas. Case in point: I was recently forwarded the link to Kenny Rager’s blog, where he reviewed Ignite and shared how it’s impacting his church. Kenny is the pastor of Living … Read More
Meet My Mentor – Church Finance Webinar on Tuesday
By now, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, there’s no doubt in your mind that I’m a firm believer in coaching. In fact, I happen to believe that everyone needs a coach. One of my coaches for the past few years is Steve Stroope, Lead Pastor of Lakepointe Church in Rockwall, Texas (in the Dallas area). Among other … Read More
Outrageous Tele-Coaching Testimony – Byron Beck
I recently asked for feedback on how God has blessed the churches represented in my current Tele-Coaching Network for Senior Pastors during their time in the network and I was flooded with stories. The most “outrageous outcome” came from Byron Beck, Senior Pastor of Fellowship General Baptist Church in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Here’s a video of him sharing the story: … Read More
NEW PODCAST – The Power of Thank You
Don’t miss this month’s Church Leader Insights Podcast, where Kerrick Thomas and I discuss “The Power of Thank You.” In this challenging podcast, we remind you that the job of a leader is to say Thank You and then we show you have to build this type of gratitude into the systems of your church! Click Here to Listen Now … Read More
What Makes A Great Sermon Great? Abraham Lincoln’s Opinion…
I just finished reading John Maxwell’s new book, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect, and I’ll be talking about it in a future CLI Newsletter (you are getting the newsletter aren’t you? if not, click here). Here’s a powerful story that Maxwell shares in this book: President Abraham Lincoln, an incredible communicator, was known during the Civil War to attend a church … Read More
Some Things You Learn In The Storm – A Saturday Quote
“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” — Willa Cather, author
How Teaching God’s Truth Can Get Your Church Noticed
I got an email recently from Freddy Villarreal, Tele-Coaching Participant and Lead Pastor of Freedom Life Church in Virginia, about how their local news (and then CNN) ran a story about the Desperate Sex Lives sermon series they did in February. Here’s the video: Freddy – great job representing your church and the Church on-camera! I’m not a fan of … Read More
FDR on Sermon Preparation…
I ran across this story in a book I was reading recently and I think it has great application when it comes to planning and preparing to preach: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was once asked how long it would take to prepare an address on a particular theme. “That depends on how long you want me to speak,’ the President answered. … Read More