Saturday Lagniappe: "How to Have a Church Where Money Is Never a Problem (For Real)" and More

How to Have a Church Where Money Is Never a Problem (For Real)

If your small church is struggling to survive, this might be the solution you're looking for. Hint: it's extreme, but it's not a fad. Read More

Answering 10 Critiques of Elder-Led Congregationalism

In this post excerpted from Don’t Fire Your Church Members I seek to answer 10 common critiques of elder-led congregationalism. Read More

Did You Preach the Word?

On the Day of Judgment our Lord will require a stricter accounting from ministers of the Word. Read More

10 Things Pastors Will Think about as They Preach This Weekend

I’ve preached most Sundays since April of 1981. You’d assume by now that I could simply focus on nothing but the Word when I'm preaching, but I still think about other things at the same time. Here are some of those things that I – and, I suspect, many other pastors – think about.... Read More

5 New Rules for Effective Church Websites

If you want your website to work for you, follow these 5 rules. Read More

The Whisperer, The KJVer, and Other Types of Group Prayer Participants You Dont Want to Be

My first opportunity to pray in a group came when some of my fellow students and I were standing in a circle, holding hands. The leader told us we could either pray or squeeze the hand of the person next to us. I was a squeezer that day. Since then, I have enjoyed praying and hearing others pray hundreds of times in both planned and impromptu settings. However, I have learned through my mistakes and the conduct of others that there are certain types of group prayer participants none of us should want to be.... Read More

10 Markers of Strong Discipleship Programs

If you’ve read this website for long, you know my concern about poor discipleship in most churches. I want churches to evaluate whether they are disciplemaking churches, and I want us to avoid the wrong responses to this problem. On the other hand, I’ve seen some churches that are, in fact, doing discipleship well. Here are some of the characteristics of those churches. Read More

Why Christians Don't Evangelize

Many, much smarter than me, have offered new research and fresh strategies to motivate Christians. This is helpful. However, I suspect that our hesitance to evangelize is less a matter of faulty methods and lack of opportunity. It goes deeper. I’d like to suggest that there are three spiritual reasons why we don’t evangelize.... Read More

Primates call for a common date for Easter in trouble

Moscow only agreeable to Catholics and Protestants adopting the Julian calendar. Read More

Anyone familiar with the history of Anglican-Russian Orthodox relations from the 17th century on would have realized that this proposal was a non-starter and an exercise in futility.