Saturday Links
All the causes of either visible or pending failure stem from a failure to cultivate the inner life. Look at the list of the causes of fruitlessness. They are the results of failing to know ourselves, failing to believe the gospel, and forgetting the truth of God’s word. Thus, we must cultivate the work of the inner life.
It is hard to overstate the importance of functional awe of God to your ministry. Awe of God is one thing that will keep a church from running off its rails and being diverted by the many agendas that can sidetrack any congregation.
Seven Characteristics of Advancing Leaders
Recently, I made an attempt to summarize seven general characteristics of these leaders who are advancing in their organizations and in life in general. Here are the seven traits I noted, none of which should be a surprise…
Why “It’s Not My Fault” Doesn’t Cut It in Leadership
Whether or not something is your fault is kind of beside the point: if you’re the leader, you’re actually responsible. And while it’s not your fault every time, sometimes it is your fault, whether you admit it or not. When you fail to admit to yourself that it’s your fault, you will never grow. As long as someone else was to blame, you don’t need to do anything about it.
Where and How Do We Draw the Line?
Everyone wants to be unified in what really matters, agree to disagree on what isn’t as important, and exercise love in all things. But no one seems to agree on what really matters a lot, a little, or not at all. As hard as it can be determining the content of our faith, it can be even harder figuring out where to put our fences.
What if I told you that our church’s busyness could actually be hindering the movement of God in our world? What if I told you that our church busyness could be insulating our church members from the very people Jesus wants Christians to be interacting with?
10 Reasons to Underprogram Your Church
I’m a devotee the “simple church” concept, but I have experienced just how daunting a task it can be to lead the under-programming of my church…
Toward Better Short-Term Missions
In the first article I laid out the history of short-term missions and some of the opportunities it has provided. The second article pointed to some of the problems that surround the enterprise. Now I want to offer a way forward.
How I Coach People into TRUE Missional Leadership
Every leader gets lost and blind in their own world and sometimes the most powerful way to influence leaders is by asking the right questions.
Is Church Membership Biblical?
While it is true that the term church membership is nowhere to be found in the New Testament, it is inferred and assumed throughout. (see also: “trinity”) Membership is not only biblical, but vital to the overall health of every local church.
Three Ways to Build a Better Church Website
Be yourself, serve people and meet them where they are. If your website can do those things, you’ll build a better website and your effectiveness in sharing the Gospel through the Internet will increase dramatically.
The 22 rules of storytelling, according to Pixar
#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.
#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite…