Quite a few years back when I was finishing up a big project, someone pointed out to me that my drivenness to get the thing done was wearing others out. That comment caused me to reflect on my workaholism and perfectionism and make some adjustments. I recognized the...
This is a question I’ve been hearing others ask of me lately. What’s with all this missional stuff? What’s wrong with the way you were doing ministry before? Yet when I reflect on what I’ve been saying for years, I don’t see any big disconnect. I’ve always said, “Have...
I have heard this question asked by leaders of denominations, pastors, and small groups: “What do I need to do to get my people living more missionally?” As is almost always the case, change starts with the leaders first. It starts with repentance. Repentance means a...
Too many people in church leadership are not disciples or making disciples. No wonder we have the problems we have in our churches. When disciples are fully trained they become like their teacher. Is that really what we want? Are we modeling what we want people to do?...
Lots of people want to learn leadership skills. Skills are important in leadership, but the real key is attitude: humility and openness to change. Let’s reflect on our attitudes toward change and transformation in our own lives: 9 To some who were confident of their...
How’s this for kicking off the new year? A book on making change lasting and effective. When you train people, most of the time you need to explain and describe. Some of that is necessary, and it results in intellectual knowledge. But if you want the result of your...
Comunidad Mosaico, a ministry I visited in Mexico City a couple of weeks ago, has launched an interesting initiative. I’ve often spoken of starting with the grassroots if you want to see real change. They’re dialed in to that reality: they’re starting with teenagers....
First generation Christians are different. They love Jesus but they don’t know anything about your denomination. My wife once went to a retreat with a new believer who was not from a Christian background. Several songs into the worship (old-time hymns) this woman...
Did you see last Monday’s article in USA today? They’re doing a series on faith in America and the author, Oliver Thomas, is making the point that things change—even in the area of faith. Once a faith stops connecting with the people and the culture, it begins to die....
