Category Archives: Uncategorized

Do What You Can, When You Can

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When I was in college at the University of Georgia I had a big project in one of my major classes. It was a project that would take hundreds of hours to complete. My professor assigned the project at the beginning of the semester and almost every time class was in session she would remind us of the project and ask a weird question – “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer she was looking for was, “One bite at a time.”

elephant_one_bite

Of course, she was teaching us how to handle a big task or project – one step at a time. When it comes to ministry, we would do well to remember this. You can’t do everything all at once. You need to take it one step at a time.

When you’re leading a church, you will have a big task on your hands. There will be much to do. But you will get overwhelmed if you try to change everything overnight. You can’t transform the culture, redesign the strategy, or realign the structure overnight.

Don’t try to do it all at once. Do what you can, when you can. 

Here are three things I regularly pray for as I’m approaching a big project or task. In fact, these are three things I regularly pray for even if I don’t have a big project or task on the agenda. Continue reading →

The Power of a Personal Invitation

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I’m sure you know this by now but I have to remind you anyway. Easter is coming. In fact, it’s just a few days away – Sunday to be exact. Easter is a pretty big day. There will be a lot of folks at your church who aren’t usually there. So, you better be ready.

youre invited this easter_wide_t

You must be ready to preach the gospel. Clearly. Simply. Powerfully. Faithfully. You must do that always. The people at church on Easter Sunday need to hear a clear and compelling presentation of the gospel. The people faithfully at church throughout the year need to hear it too.

Beyond that, use Easter as a way to train your people to invite their friends, neighbors, coworkers, classmates, and relatives. In another post, I wrote about Motivating Members to Reach Out To Others. This helps describe a strategy we’ve employed at our church to encourage our people to invite others. If you can teach God’s people the power of a personal invitation it could revolutionize your church and ministry.

The statistics are astounding. Most people say that they would come to church if someone they knew invited them. But sadly, most church people don’t invite others. Dr. Thom Rainer makes some important points for consideration:  Continue reading →

How To Teach Your Kids About Jesus

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What do you want your kids to learn? Math? Science? Ballet? Gymnastics? How to hit a baseball? How to throw a football? All of these things are great. But I’ve decided that I want my kids to learn about God. More than anything else, I want to teach them what it means to know Jesus, to love Jesus, and to serve Jesus.

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Honestly, it’s easier to teach them to throw a football or to hit a baseball than it is to teach them to love Jesus. But teaching them about Jesus is so much more important. I desperately want my kids to follow Jesus faithfully. So, I need to teach them to do just that. But how? Here are a few steps that might help.

Continue reading →

Something People Like Less Than Change

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You’ve heard it before – people don’t like change. I understand why. A few years ago Chick-Fil-A changed their chicken salad sandwich and I’m still not over it. Bonaire, Georgia looks a lot different today then it did when I was a boy. In some ways, that makes me sad. I’m a nostalgic person. I really do understand why people don’t like change.

ChangeBut change is a necessity. Think about it. Imagine a world with no automobiles, with no antibiotics, with no internet. All of those things came about because someone challenged the status quo. So, if you want to move forward – if you want to grow – change is inevitable. In business, in life, and in the church – you must change if you want to move forward.

As a pastor, I’ve discovered a way to soften the blow of change. At least I think I have. Or maybe I hope I have. I’ve discovered that one reason people don’t like change so much is because they’re surprised by it. This led me to a pretty important discovery. Continue reading →

A Leadership Lesson From Michael Scott

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Do you know Michael Scott? Of course you do. Michael is…or was…the (fictional) Regional Manager at Dunder Mifflin Inc. – a mid-sized paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. And…he’s the world’s best boss. Just check out the mug. 

I’m sure you’ve learned a lot through the years from Michael Scott’s incredible leadership on The Office (sarcasm intended). He seems to always cause mass chaos, create uncomfortable situations, and evoke angry responses from his coworkers and employees.

One day, because of his own stupidity, Michael finds himself in another awkward and avoidable situation. His boss sits across the table and simply asks him, “What do you want, Michael?” After causing the problem and creating the confusion, Michael Scott’s response is almost unbelievable. Do you know what he said? Continue reading →