When you look at the landscape of American evangelicalism, our gathering spaces are just as varied as our churches: rural congregations bordering acres of open farmland. Urban congregations in landlocked buildings. Portable congregations renting school...
Repeat after me: Weekends are for new friends. When we walk into the church lobby on the weekend, the temptation is to talk to those we already know. Our small group friends, our ministry team...
Not too long ago, I was on my way to the grocery store when I came up on a line of cars and a road crew. Apparently a large-ish tree had fallen across two lanes...
“Aim at your guests and you’ll hit the congregation every time.” It was likely a throwaway line by Daniel Simmons, one of our pastors, in a recent meeting. But that line has been lodged in...
Ken Blanchard’s Raving Fans is a must-read for anyone who serves the public, anyone who interacts with the public, or anyone who is the public. (Did I leave anyone out? No? Great.) I could spend several posts...
I recognize that I will get some blowback on the title of this post. But a confession: crap is one of my favorite words. More than that, it’s my wife’s favorite word. Years ago when...
You’ve heard the adage clarity is kindness. That phrase – most often attributed to Brené Brown, though it didn’t originate with her – simply means that we need to be overly clear on the things...
Recently I had the opportunity to run a special-edition Volunteer Headquarters for a group of our family ministry vols. Part of the plan was to come up with some special treats that went beyond the...
We don’t often put a lot of emphasis on parking lots in church world, and for good reasons: they’re not ground zero of ministry. They’re not where real church happens. They’re…kinda boring. But the parking...
I recognize that I came off the top rope in that post title. I’m not mad at you, really. But like a good parent, I’m not mad, I’m just…frustrated. Frustrated as I go into retail...
