Catch the seashore vision

Catch the seashore vision

As a young church planter, knocking on doors in the 70s and struggling to get a new church up and running, I had a vision that has since directed the rest of my life. In my vision I was standing at the seashore in southern California. I was joined by other church...

An online interview

Robbie MacKenzie, of Missional Youth Ministry, recently interviewed me via Skype video. In that video, I talked about my own journey of faith and calling, my perspective on missional ministry, and advice to today’s church planters. If you’d like to check out the...
The power of being principle-based

The power of being principle-based

Shortly after my church planting workbook came out many years ago, I happened to be at the mission headquarters office when a call came in from a guy in Germany. He said, “I hope it’s okay, but I took the liberty of translating your workbook and wanted to field test...
Generosity … for all of us

Generosity … for all of us

Today I don’t want you to read my blog. I want you to read this entry by Tom Nebel. It highlights the importance of living out the values of what you want to reproduce. That’s true not just for individuals, but also for groups, churches, and movements. Read it here:...

A story of cross-cultural church planting

I love finding stories of church planting the mainstream media. A friend in Denver sent me this story from the Denver Post. A Methodist Church in Westminster, Colorado began sponsoring Cuban refugees in 1962. The reverend and his family led the way by example,...

Walk before you run

Here’s something I’ve learned:  When you’re doing coach training, don’t try to train them in an application area (e.g. coaching for church planting, coaching for discipling) at the same time you’re training them in basic coaching skills. If you try to have people...

Who says you can’t do it all?

The Ethiopia ACT Project provides an example of holistic ministry stunning in its breadth. They provide medical care for people with HIV/AIDS, they share the gospel and pray with people, they train HIV-positive patients to teach others how to adhere to the medication,...