Commitment is key to accomplishing anything in ministry. Without commitment, you won’t finish anything. You probably know many people in your church who struggle to commit. They jump from one relationship to another, one career to another, or one church to another. They never seem to give God time to work in their lives, and they always have a Plan B; they’re ready to bolt when life gets complicated. It’s a frustrating experience for leaders. But, pastor, are you doing the same thing? Are you watching your ministry flounder because you’re regularly shuffling through new priorities? That pa ..read more

A few years ago, my computer froze about an hour before I was going to preach. I lost all my sermon notes. For about 30 minutes, I panicked. Fortunately, a computer whiz on my staff saved about a third of my message. Although not the entire sermon, it was quite helpful.  But my computer had been sluggish for a while before this emergency. Finally, it just stopped working because too many programs were clogging up the system. At that point, all I could do was hit the reset button. My computer needed a fresh start. Our churches need a fresh start sometimes, too. We live in a complicated ..read more

God has called us to lead in a world that’s often preoccupied with immediate gratification and short-term goals. Every problem has an immediate solution. Every bit of pain needs to be removed right now.  But God looks for something different in Christian leaders. He is looking for far-sighted, eternally focused leadership. That’s leadership that always keeps eternity in mind. It isn’t easy. Often we have immediate issues that we must be focused upon. But when we don’t keep eternity in mind, it’s easy to get sidetracked by the frustrations and stresses of life. The Bible teaches us what ..read more

What if the best days for your church are still ahead? Sure, you’ll face challenges. But you can’t imagine what God has in store for your church in the years ahead of you.  Last week, I shared with you the giants you’ll battle as you pursue God’s vision—delay, discouragement, disapproval, and doubt. They’re tough. But the story of David and Goliath teaches four ways to overcome these giants so you can embrace the future God has planned.  Remember what God has done in the past.  Remembering how God has worked in your church in the past will boost your confidence. It will enco ..read more

God has a dream for your church.  I’ve noticed through the years that the common denominator in every growing church, regardless of denomination or cultural context, is leadership that is not afraid to believe God.  It’s the faith factor. Nothing happens in a church until someone dreams. But just because God gives your church a dream doesn’t mean you won’t hit roadblocks along the way. David is a great example of this. Right after Samuel anointed him, David faced a major roadblock—a literal giant. Before he would ever lead Israel, before he even endured Saul’s harassment, David had ..read more

Everything you have is a gift from God. God has given you your family, your health, your ministry, and even your freedom.  If God didn’t give you the ability to work for what you have, you wouldn’t have anything.  God expects you to be a good steward of everything he has given, including your influence. He wants you to use your influence to help others.  What is influence? It’s not fame. You can be famous and not influential. Many people know celebrities, but they don’t care what they think. It’s also not wealth. You can’t buy influence. The Cambridge Dictionary defines influe ..read more

2023 will be full of decisions, and those decisions will largely define your success. But with every decision, there is a risk. Paul was a professional at making decisions and taking risks. In Acts 15:26, the Bible describes Paul and Barnabas as those “who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (NLT). Because Paul took risks, he accomplished so much in his ministry. Many of you have great dreams for your ministry in 2023. You want to start something new. You want to finally reach a goal you’ve longed to accomplish. But you’re afraid to get started. The Bible gives us ..read more

We have a leadership shortage in this world. We have plenty of people in charge, plenty of people with opinions, and plenty of people bent on abusing power—but we have a shortage of godly leaders committed to serving other people and helping them become who God has called them to be.  God wants you and me to be a part of the solution, just as Paul writes to Timothy: “You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others” (2 Timothy 2:2 NLT). In Part 1 of this artic ..read more

Of all the statements Jesus made in the Gospels, one that is among the most difficult for people today to reckon with is this: “Blessed are those who are gentle. They will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5 GW). We don’t normally think of the people who “inherit the earth” as gentle. But the Bible tells us that the leaders who make a difference in the world around them are gentle.  This goes against the grain. Too many leaders today, even Christian leaders, believe that gentleness is equivalent to weakness. Nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, leading with gentlenes ..read more

Motivation is an indispensable part of leadership. As I mentioned in Part 1 of this article, Nehemiah gives us a master class in motivation in Nehemiah 2. I shared these four principles of motivation drawn from that chapter: Expect opposition. Wait for the right time. Get the facts first.  Identify with your people. This week, I’ll share four more: 5. Dramatize the seriousness of the problem. Nehemiah didn’t hold back when he told the people in verse 17, “You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the w ..read more