A church I know has just stopped running its mums and toddler group. It’s stopped bumps and babies. It’s stopped – well, it’s stopped doing everything except bible studies. The argument is that it’s too easy for us to be distracted from doing what we ought to be doing by what is secondary, and attractive,
I can’t remember when I first heard the idea that Christian ministry is a relay race, but it’s a powerful metaphor: each generation passes the baton on to the next, and here we sit at the end of a line of faithful witnesses, passing it on yet again. It’s powerful – but I’m increasingly convinced
…as you can see from the video in the sidebar, I’ve been having a bit of a health battle. I haven’t been blogging about it because that’s not how I process those kind of experiences, but I’m getting back to a good place now, and my energy levels are returning So I reckon the blog
We have a little rule at the church council: on most issues we don’t discuss and decide at the same meeting. It’s a high value for me, because I’ve learnt the hard way the price I pay for steamrolling something through. Years ago, but still fresh in my mind, I thought we were all sorted
Well, of course you might. That goes without saying. The question is, are you likely to? And, do the risks of changing what you’re doing outweigh the risks of staying where you are, or even moving in the opposite direction? And, just how far would you have to go for that to happen? If you
There are some common elements in faithful Christian ministry that will be true and transferable across the world. These will be as true in a small house church as a multisite megachurch. There a couple that it’s almost a cliché to list them But they’re essential. Hard work. Gospel work is a joy, a privilege
It’s shocking to consider that when I accept invitations to speak, preach or write, I am doing so for nothing more trivial than a desire to be seen.
This is a reverse blogpost. I need your advice. In exactly one week I start as the vicar (minister, pastor) of a large church with a big staff team What are the top lessons that I simply must put into practice? And what are the ministry-killing mistakes I must avoid? Pile in below – and
We had a really encouraging and enthusiastic afternoon with Matt Chandler. Here are my top takeaways:- Parents – We need to keep articulating the gospel, otherwise our kids will believe that either legalism or licence is the way to go. The gospel must NOT be assumed Otherwise we, and they, will continually want to get
A highly gifted man I know has just moved to pastor a new church. He’s a good preacher, down to earth, warm and greatly loved – and in the decade he’d been at the previous church it had more than doubled. He’s left multiple services, a packed church, a growing staff team and a building
Now we’re getting back into the swing of things after the break, I thought it would be good to welcome new readers (and welcome back old ones). I began this blog in August 2012, and since then a lot of people have stopped by, so I thought I’d get straight what we’re here for. For
One church has a full time musician on its staff. Another has to use digital recordings on a keyboard because no-one can play. One church produces full colour notice-sheets. Another uses a twenty year old duplicator. One church puts on a full scale Christmas pageant. Another can hardly scratch together a choir for the carol
It sounds like firm, clear leadership – or ego driven leadership. It rather depends on which side of the decision and leadership you’re standing on. Those of us who are leaders have a limited amount of leadership capital, and we don’t want to spend it on the wrong issues. So we need to distinguish two
I first noticed it in Malcolm Gladwell’s clever little book Outliers. In almost every area of human creativity and endeavour, when you come across an overnight success story, you can bet that behind it lies hours of practice. Hours. 10,000 of them to be exact. Gladwell charts it in music, writing, the sciences – there’s
Obviously, sometimes it’s necessary to bust through the internal shape of an S curve and defy its inherent decline. We need to do something new – start a new service or ministry, or even add someone to the staff. The question is, when is the right time? Can you do it too early? Of course.
Jim Collins was on top form at the Global Leadership Summit this summer. He summarised his new book, ‘Great by Choice’, which I strongly recommend. But at one point he did something disturbing for a Brit – he attacked one of our national icons. Robert Falcon Scott is one of our heroes. Undeniably brave, and
“I don’t know how the church has grown. All I’ve done is teach the Bible.” The wise old Christian leader looked genuine enough, but I’m sure he was harbouring a secret. But because he’s a model for younger church leaders, they are going to think that he’s telling them the truth, and start to think
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