Saturday Lagniappe: One Family of God and More

Remember, We Are Family

As Francis Schaeffer once asked, “How should we then live?” Church history reveals our fathers and mothers of the church’s infancy saw people drawn to our family based not only by the common beliefs we shared, but also by the compassion-filled behavior we displayed. The family of God in America would do well to recapture familial living. One pathway forward we can personify is found in Galatians 5:16–26. Living in step with God the Holy Spirit, who dwells inside of each believer, provides us with the ability to live like we’re family, even though we have differences in opinions and preferences. Three practical truths we can remember from this passage are.... Read More

Gratitude: The Brain’s Amazing Fertilizer

I live in Canada and we celebrated Thanksgiving in October while the U.S. celebrates Thanksgiving in November. Although a few other countries celebrate similar holidays, Canada and the U.S. make a big deal of it. Many people in both countries approach Thanksgiving with a desire to be more grateful, at least on those holidays. It’s great that we highlight gratefulness through a holiday, but did you know that gratitude is actually good for your brain and your body? Consider what science has discovered about this amazing brain fertilizer. Read More

7 Steps to Getting (and Keeping) Loyal Volunteers

If you lead a ministry, you’re probably familiar with the 80/20 rule: 20 percent of your people do 80 percent of the work. It’s a reality of ministry as persistent as it is disappointing. And as if the 80/20 rule wasn’t bad enough, the 20 percent doesn’t remain constant. Different people “rotate” through serving, so seems that just when you get a volunteer in place and on their feet, they walk away. It can be one of the most frustrating experiences of ministry. But Don Simmons has a solution. Simmons is the founder of Creative Potential Consulting and Training, where he teaches churches to use seven steps to flipping the 80/20 script. Read More

5 Foundations to Build A Strong Volunteer Culture

Either the culture of your church is volunteer friendly, or it's not. Read More

Eight Reasons Churches Need to Teach Budgeting

When churches plan their discipleship strategy, too few churches include basic budgeting in their curriculum. Perhaps they assume that most people know how to budget, or maybe they don’t have anyone prepared to teach a budgeting lesson. No matter what the reason for this omission, churches need to teach budgeting. Here’s why.... Read More

How to Avoid Being Fired When Leading a Growing Church

In my post last week, I looked at the reasons pastors were fired, even though their churches were growing. In this post, I offer ways some pastors have avoided this tragedy while leading a church to growth. Read More

Columns from Tabletalk Magazine, November 2018

The November issue of Tabletalk considers what it means for Christians to be a people of the book. Throughout the history of Christianity, the church has understood the sixty-six books of the Bible to be the infallible and inerrant Word of God, “which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.” As such, it is “the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him” (Westminster Shorter Catechism 2). Having received this revelation from God, the church is responsible for submitting to and rightly applying the Bible in all of life. This issue addresses the subject of hermeneutics and rules of interpretation. Further, it seeks to help Christians understand how to apply the Bible as we seek to be faithful Christians who study, meditate on, and love the Word of God. Learn More about Tabletalk Read This Month's Issue

Don’t Just Support Missions. Do Missions.

Today we face new challenges. Without exaggeration, we can point to the twenty-first century as a new era in Christian missions and recognize it as a vast new opportunity. Read More