Monday's Catch: Attitude Differences of Growing Churches and More

5 Big Attitude Differences That Separate Growing Churches from Declining Churches

So what’s the difference between churches that grow and churches that decline? Well, there are many, but—crisis or no crisis—one of the biggest differences I see is in the attitude of the leaders. The leaders of growing churches almost always share a common attitude. So do the leaders of declining churches. Read More

What Lessons About Online Church Have You Learned?

Here are four things I’ve learned and will carry forward into in-person gatherings when they resume. Read More

From this past Sunday's Zoom outage I learned the importance of monitoring the internet for such outages and having a backup plan in the event of future outages. I had downloaded the updated version of Zoom shortly before the online church service that I host and thought the problems that attendees were experiencing joining the service were related to the updated version.

Five Keys to Effective Follow Up [Repost]

Just like you don’t communicate with your 14-year-old nephew and your 80-year-old grandmother the same way, you’ll use many different methods to follow up with different groups in your church. But there are a few defining characteristics of a great follow-up process that are important for every follow up process you have. Read More

Also see Church Fuel's Follow-Up Checklist.

7 Ways to Make the Most of Your Online Church Experience

As we are gathering online for worship in the coming weeks, I want to encourage us to approach the worship services actively – not passively. It will take you willfully choosing to be active because the television screen has trained us to be passive. Read More

While I do not agree with Eric Geiger's view of online church, I do agree with what he says about taking steps to make the most of our online church experience. If we are honest with ourselves, our physical gatherings are also far from perfect. In this time of sheltering in place, we have a tendency to idealize those gatherings. In many churches the physical gatherings are not multi-generational or multicultural. A worship team or a choir may do most of the singing. The physical gatherings may also not serve the body as a whole. The body of Christ is a spiritual entity that exists outside of time and space as well as in time and space. Digital gatherings and in-person gatherings are two different expressions of this spiritual reality. They both have strengths and limitations. It is a mistake to compare them and to idealize one over the other. Rather let us admit personal preferences for what they are--personal preferences. What matters most is that we are drawing nearer to God, focusing upon Him and not earthly concerns, and honoring Him in all that we say and do. Let us not forget that we can trample the courts of the Lord daily but our hearts can still be far from Him

Pastoral Shame and Stewardship During a Pandemic

Pastor, if you resonate with any of these feelings of shame, I have good news for you today. Read More

What Will Ministry in a Post-Covid World Look Like?

Josh Reich offers seven questions with which he believes pastors need to wrestle in a COVID-19 ravished world. Read More

Whatever we may believe, life is not going to return to what we once thought of as "normal." COVID-19 will have an impact that will outlast this century.

How Baptism Changes Our Status

Baptism is “just” a symbolic act. But symbolic acts can be very powerful. These “mere” signs can change reality when they take place in the context of the community of faith. They are “just” symbols. But symbols have power. They can transform our status. Read More

Working Remotely: 4 Basic Skills to Master

The adjustment to working remotely can be difficult for some. I work remotely about 50% of the time. For me the benefit and ability to work remotely makes much of my ministry possible but I recognize it isn’t for everyone. Here are some tips to make the transition easier if you are struggling. Read More

How to Build a Quarantine Routine

How do you build a quarantine routine? Here are a few questions to ask, and then I’ll share some things our family and I are doing.... Read More