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I recently made a leadership decision that was fraught with some amount of peril. Most good leadership decisions are. If you’re not risking, you’re probably not leading as aggressively as you should. [shareable]If you’re not risking, you’re probably not leading as aggressively as you should.[/shareable] I was contacted by someone who expressed genuine concern about […]

The church where I pastor in Oklahoma City is hiring a new pastoral position. Our church has been growing: We’re running 100, with a 9 week unique worshippers number of 175. Our Food Pantry continues to grow, with 22,000 served in the last 12 months. We are working on building a new fellowship and food […]

Baptism is a beautiful moment as new Christians celebrate their transformation & new life in Christ… but what happens if you’re a small church without a built-in baptistry? Sure, you could use a creek.  But what if you live in Oklahoma City and you don’t have a creek? You could go out of town and […]

Being a pastor of a church can be emotionally exhausting.  At times, it really does feel like riding an emotional roller coaster. In a single week, you can cover. rejoicing with a new convert who is growing in their faith hurting with a young couple who lost a baby conflict with a board member preaching and feeling […]

This goal with this session was to make it inspiring as much as it is informative… A discussion of how to get your church over the hump of INACTION, and a discussion of how the church in Acts moved forward when they were faced with the question of putting THEIR plan into action… Below, you’ll […]

Ray Stevens, the great musical comedian, once wrote a song called “Sunday Mornings.” Chaos, mayhem, panic and disorder Even worse when we were cursed with not enough hot water We broke most of the Commandments and a host of the heavenly warnings Trying to get the family to church on Sunday morning If you smiled […]

I am OK with some kinds of stress.  Performance stress is good for you, since it raises your awareness and sends adrenaline coursing through your body… But I hate most kinds of stress.  It lowers joy, saps energy & creativity, and is a continual “white noise” in the brain when you need to think clearly. […]

Everyone knows that change is “make or break” for leadership. The test of leadership isn’t how many people voted for you, or how many will cry at your funeral… it’s whether or not you can lead people to change. John Maxwell says, [shareable]’He that thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only […]

I remember when the professor stood in front of our class, and passed out copies of the 5 year vision plan of a young, visionary pastor he had known.  It was detailed, multiple pages… and quite ambitious. Then the prof read the resignation letter of the chairman of the church board.  And another board member. And […]