Four things we overvalue and undervalue in our churches: Overvalue the pulpit and undervalue the classroom Overvalue our position our undervalue our (influence) responsibility Overvalue tradition and undervalue history Overvalue programs and undervalue process
Episode 331: What is the Speed Limit of Your Church Parking lot School zone Residential Main Road Highway Autobahn
Episode 330: An Especially Needed Ministry (from Episode 15) Here is the major question you have to wrestle with - will our church do "Ministry to" or "Ministry team" Where to start Start with a conversation - Make sure to have a line of communication with family members Have those with limitations - take you on a tour of your church Work on access - make your buildings accessible all on one level Ramps and elevators - legal issues in new buildings playgrounds bathrooms wide doors Certain paint ...
Episode329: 5 Ways to Take Advantage of Summer in Your Church Relationship strengthening Leveraging opportunities Hard and soft resets Personal pauses and planning Short-term projects
Episode 328: 7 Voices We Need to Hear Voice of the Lord Voice of Wise Counsel Voice of our Spouse Voice Inside Voice of the Community Voice of Warning Voice of the World
Episode 327: A Word for Leaders Straight from God's Word 1 Peter 5:1-11 1. Focus on the flock God has given you. Be loyal 2. Be glad and speak well of your calling and your church. 3. Serve with your people 4. Be humble before your church. Vs 5-6 5. Don't worry vs 7 6. Vs 8 work to protect your mind and your character 7. You're not alone in your struggle 8. God's got this
Episode 326: How Can We Call Out the Called? Preach and teach on calling Give opportunities to allow people to respond to a call Speak well of your calling Listen and Observe and Ask Look for those who are leading and others are listening to Listen to those who are wanting to volunteer for ministry Offer opportunities for exploration Have a process for training Take them with you on ministry visits Keep communication lines open...
Episode #:325 Six Money Wasters Hiring the wrong person Cutting back on missions giving Not looking for ways to use your facilities Maintaining vehicles you never use Spending money on inwardly focused ministry and not outreach Delaying maintenance
Episode 324: Avoiding Structural Damage Questions to ask about your structure Does it work? Is it too centralized in one place? a person/pastor a deacon team or board Does it represent multiple segments of your church community? Can it accommodate growth? Some other things to consider Get examples from effective churches Train up and empower others Allow for as many decisions to be made at the lowest level possible Evaluate your structure often Continually look for new leaders Get outside help....
Episode 323: Eight Thoughts on Your Church and Prayer You can't give away what you don't own. As a leader/pastor you must be a person of prayer! Teach and preach on prayer often Offer a guided prayer time each week Offer a church-wide 40 day prayer/fasting event event Offer a single, dedicated prayer service Add a prayer wall Use a tool to encourage prayer a church had ladies make quits and people tied strings on the quilt when they payed for the person. Give men especially a reason to pray for ...
Episode 322: 7 Ways to Sabotage Change in Your Churc 1. Thinking your position gives you the right to make change 2. Refusing to gather input from multiple perspectives 3. Falsely assuming everyone is or should be an an early adopter of change 4. Making the wrong changes 5. Moving too fast or to slow 6. Giving up too soon 7. Praying too little
Is Your Welcome Center Welcoming? Don't assume your church is good at welcoming guests. Designate a welcome area and keep it highly visible. Get volunteers who will make welcoming a passion. Train your volunteers regularly. Announce your welcome area during the service. Gather only essential information. Follow up as quickly as possible.
Episode 320: 5 Thoughts About Communio Think about its frequency strategically Think about its placement in the service Think broadly in how you structure it. passive - people receive the elements active - people must perform an action to receive elements purpose - ties it to a larger focus (remembering the cost of forgiveness, forgiving others, self-examination...) Think about informal opportunities for communion Think about asking others for their ideas for sharing communion...
Episode 319: Does Your Church Have an Acts 1:8 Strategy take a look at your yearly stats for the last 5 to 10 years. Look for attendance trends Look for baptism trends Look for Missions giving and involvement trends Ask the hard questions Are we currently doing or planning to do a gospel outreach effort in our local community? Are we currently doing or planning to do a gospel outreach effort in our state? Are we currently doing or planning to do a gospel outreach effort in our nation or region? ...
more people care about your ministry than you realize more people know about your churches strengths and its problems than you would believe the church down the street has just as many issues as your church does your congregations has something to offer God's Kingdom. God has a purpose and plan for you right now
Episode 317: Time Change: Preparing for Transitions It seems that every doctor’s appointment I have now requires some kind of prep work and most of it is unpleasant. If you’re not there you will be someday. Why? Because time in this world is not static and life moves on. Someone once said that all pastors are interims. From a time standpoint, that is certainly true. Because of this, we have a responsibility in setting a tone for times of transition. Succession planning is a hot topic in ministry...
Episode 316: When Is too Much Can You have too much women's ministry and men's ministry? Can you have too much student ministry and children's ministry? Does it take away from the family dynamic? Does it undercut the corporate gathering? Are they taking away from evangelism? Are they creating opportunities for outreach and service? Are they a breeding ground for gossip? Do they complement one another? Do they have a strategic plan and purpose?...
Episode 315: Riley Prather Enjoy our talk with Riley Prather a church planter/pastor from Conneticut. He also works with the SEND Network of the SBC
Episode 314: Crisis Leadership Here are what I call 5 “P”s for crisis management: 1. Preparation - have you built a collaborative team to walk with you and help you in crisis? 2. People - your leadership team, your lay leaders, your church, and your community are all affected by a crisis. How are you prepared to minister and communicate with each group? Jeff Iorg You cannot lead if you cannot bring and inflict pain 3. Process - you have to work through a process. Differing situations require dif...
Episode 313: 5 Mistakes In Our Preaching Plan We get tunnel vision and miss the bigger picture We get fixated on one style and one method We plan for only our voice to be heard We forget the importance of flexibility We preach at issues.
Episode 312: Why its Important for Church Leaders to have a Godly Handle on their Money Ecclesiastes 5:10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. So we need to ask what is it that you really love? What gives you a sense of fulfillment? Of course we would say God - but remember in Revelation 2 Jesus commends the church at Ephesus for many things but ends saying they have left their first love. So why is this so impo...
Episode 311: Where are the Kids? Are you prepared for kids pray for families a compelling place for kids safe and clean background checks, policies and procedures technology Is your service family friendly "We want kids, but we don't want to adapt our service." make them feel wanted allow more kids into your service let kids participate Embrace families when they visit and get to know their friends adopt families who visit go to their school and sporting events relationships matter Create partne...
Episode 310: Routine or Rigidity Routines are important 1. Build strong habits 2. Help us work efficiently 3. Fits in with our personalities 4. Gives us a sense of control Rigidity means we cannot flex our routine 1. When we can't meet needs of our church, because of our insistence on our schedule 2. When an change in our routine ruins our day. 3. Can lead to behavioral issues such as depression, obsessive compulsion, anxiety... Some suggestions: - Think of your schedule in blocks or sections th...
Episode309: 4 Skills I Wish I Worked On Sooner Coaching How to walk with people How to encourage growth in people Conflict Mediation How to view conflict positively How to engage properly When to get outside help Consultation How to see things with fresh eyes How to evaluate objectively Counseling How to listen How to help others find solutions...
Episode 307: All Hat - No Cows...and Can I Retire Yet? Thank you for helping us get to 10,000 downloads! Catch the article from Mark Dance we interacted with today1
Episode 306: Our Interview With Keeney Dickenson on Prayer Keeney is the pastor of FBC Crockett, TX and consultant on prayer with the Southern Baptists of Texas. You can learn more and order his new book Prayer Powered Pulpit here
Episode 305: Habits to Start in 2025 Build your own spiritual life how can you grow intentionally in 2025 Pray over the seats in the church auditorium Make time to pray with other pastors Build good communication pattens in the church consistent concise caring Set aside time each week to be creative - we are created in the image of a creative God Prioritize your marriage and family date your wife listen to your wife Working on a particular area of ministry Develop Focus From James Clear "To lear...
Episode 304: Making Your Own traditions Christmas is a time of family traditions But sometimes you can't be with family Live too far away Grown kids have other family It's a struggle for most pastor families to put their family before the church Set date boundaries early For newly married pastors- talk through traditions you had as kids. Pick the ones you want to continue So make sure to start or protect family traditions Your young kids need those traditions and memories Read the Christmas stor...
Episode 303: How do we engage the next generation? Reaching kids and reaching students are different Gen Z & alphas Activity-based ministry is out Meaningfulness and sincerity why they matter why their spiritual lives matter Relationships still matter especially unpaid people they want to partner with you
Episode302: Why How We Grow Matters Areas we should see consistent growth Our ability to empathize Our willingness to accept criticism Our desire to train new leaders Our capacity to live at a ministry pace Our knowledge of our own strengths and weaknesses Why is this important because ministry is hard, and most people don't understand it. because life is challenging and filled with conflict and trouble. because people fail to reach their potential because we cannot be everything for everyone be...
