Recently, I had the privilege of speaking at a women’s conference where the diversity of attendees spanned generations. Across the table, I found myself in conversation with two women at different life stages: one fresh out of college and single, the other recently widowed. Despite their disparate circumstances, they shared a common struggle—navigating the challenges of finding an apartment, living alone, and facing the uncertainties of the future. In every church I’ve served, there has been a recurring desire to establish a mentorship program. However, the term “mentorship” can often evoke fe ..read more

Here’s a way to strengthen your church’s discipleship efforts today.  In my book, Disciple, I write that many churches have a discipleship strategy that looks like a bunch of puzzle pieces lying on the floor, with nobody working to connect them. That is, a church may have the right pieces to have a good discipleship strategy, but nobody’s ever really put the pieces together to create a strategy. The result is often a church filled with activity, but few disciples.  In my experience, though, some churches trying to address this issue still fail because they do one of the following thi ..read more

The prevailing wisdom for pastors is longer tenure is better. I believe this principle is generally true. A string of shorter tenures is usually not healthy for churches. But it is possible to stay too long. What are some of the signs? When you become the lightning rod with every change effort. Challenging the status quo is disruptive. You should expect people to push back when significant changes are proposed. The pastor will, at times, be the focus of criticism. If you lead, you will be challenged by those who feel the impact of change. This critique is a necessary part of accountability. Ho ..read more

What must happen for my church to grow? Many pastors and church leaders ask this question. Whether a church grows its attendance or not is top of mind for any casual observer of American religion. Obviously, some of what drives these dynamics are unmeasurable—good preaching, strong discipleship programs, and a compelling worship experience are not easily reduced to numbers in a spreadsheet.  However, that doesn’t mean that social science tools cannot be used to understand some of the macro-level factors that impact the trajectory of local churches. To see what data can tell us about this ..read more

“Most of the report came back as expected,” the pastor told us after he received his copy of the Know Your Beliefs report. “But four points on the report shook me to the core. I had no idea that is what our members believe. It has caused me to rethink what I preach and what our community groups teach.” The pastor’s church was one of our beta churches, congregations that tested the report before we released it to all churches. We’ve heard similar reports from other church leaders. Some pastors asked the entire adult congregation to take the report. Some plan to ask their elders. Others said the ..read more

On the one hand, I am hesitant to share this information. Our team works with several denominational leaders to implement The Hope Initiative. We get reports of God’s work every week. My concern is that I might imply that The Hope Initiative is a silver bullet. It is not. But God is using it.  I also want to be careful to suggest that a 30-day turnaround means that the church is okay with a quick fix, and they are done. They are not. Such is the reason we often refer to The Hope Initiative as a “jump start.” On the other hand, we are currently seeing so much fruit from this initiative tha ..read more

This month, I celebrated 43 years in full-time ministry. It’s hard to believe I’ve been at this work that long—maybe because most of the years have been great joys. Here are some things I would do differently, though, if I were starting again: I would pray more. Frankly, my current interest in prayer really grew after I had been a pastor for several years. My pastoring years would have been different had I spent more time on my knees.  I would counsel less. I thought I had to have the answers for my church members, regardless of what their issues were. Now, I would much more quickly refe ..read more

Pastors manage churches as much, if not more, than leading them. Making disciples requires pastors to be involved in the day-to-day operations of a church. If you’re not willing to manage a church, you’re not qualified to lead a church. Should pastors be involved in every task? No. However, every pastor should have some involvement in the daily operations of church life. Shepherds—by God’s design—are among the sheep. Why is it tempting, and dangerous, to neglect the task of management? It’s tempting to neglect operations. Operations take time. Few people see operations in the church. Anyone wh ..read more

You can do your job well without loving it. However, for pastors, the calling often goes beyond mere duty. It encompasses a passion for serving and guiding their flocks. What distinguishes pastors who love their jobs from those who do their jobs? It boils down to several essential qualities. They embrace awkward moments. At my first church, the lone deacon would take a smoke break in the middle of my sermon. (Yes, I preached too long.) Then, there was the time someone brought a pet parrot to church. (No, I didn’t get any amens from the bird.) And I’ll never forget the several demonstrators who ..read more

I love our large community of pastors, church staff, denominational leaders, and lay leaders at Church Answers Central. The promise we make them is they can ask any question or make any comment, and we will respond within a few hours. We usually respond within an hour. That’s the promise. They can learn from us.  But, frankly, I feel like I am learning more from the Church Answers Central community than they are learning from me. For example, one of the pastors in our community posted this insightful comment this week: “My church has been experiencing growth due to the decline of sister c ..read more