Pastors, the picture you paint is the art your people will carry. If you call your people to the nations “over seas,” but fail to call them to the 360 unreached people groups living in the United States and 180 in Canada, then they will believe the unreached people groups […]
Discipleship
Sometimes the Spirit does the unexpected–requiring no intentional planning on behalf of the Church. Sometimes the Spirit works through our God-given wisdom as Kingdom stewards–requiring intentional planning on behalf of the Church. We must hold to both approaches, keeping them in tandem and remaining at peace. But which one comes […]
The Tandem in Strategic Planning
Our church decided several years ago to simplify the way we do Vacation Bible School. In an attempt to be more simple, more reproducible, empower more leaders, and reach more families, we decentralized and de-calendarized. Instead of attempting to draw kids to our church’s property for one week, we challenged […]
Rock the Block
This week Baptist Press released the article, “SBC Reports More Churches, Fewer People.” Within hours, secular media outlets were reporting on these findings too. For those who have been tracking these numbers, this article brought no surprises. And while there is nothing surprising here, as a Southern Baptist, I have […]
Decline in Southern Baptist Convention Numbers
If being a leader means violating Kingdom principles to accomplish a Kingdom goal–even a greater goal–then I will refrain from being a leader. This is something you must determine in your heart, no matter what “success” you observe in the world–or the Church. One of the great tragedies in the […]
Temptation of Bleating and Lowing
“So he poured on him the heat of his anger and the might of battle; it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand; it burned him up, but he did not take it to heart” (Isaiah 42:25, ESV). The mind of the dead is unable to […]