On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the door of the local church in Wittenberg, Germany, 95 reforms he believed necessary to revitalize the universal church and restore Jesus to His rightful place as Savior and Lord in church doctrine and life. In effect, Luther grabbed the church by the throat & […]
Life & Death Culture is imploding, collapsing in upon itself. Denying absolutes and objective truth, culture is now without safeguards, consuming itself in a death spiral of spiritual and moral chaos. In his outstanding essay, “The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World,” David Wells writes: “The evangelical church has a sense that moral absolutes […]
One of the greatest constants in my ministry as a pastoral coach is walking with young ministers who are in transition, aka hiring or being hired. It is possible that the single most important decision a lead pastor makes is in the hiring of staff pastors: a poor choice can add dead weight, obstacles, or poison […]
Leading businesses have known for years that one of the keys to growth is a retained and trained leadership team. Fortune 500 companies invest heavily in their young leaders, knowing that the investment will reap rewards over and over again, not only in the business, but in the employee. Coaching is a key component of […]
Several years ago, the magazine, “Inc.” published an article that began like this: “… Businesses tend to spend so much of their time and money acquiring new customers that they often overlook their best source of growth: retaining and growing their existing customer base.” Interesting! The best source of growth for a company is not […]
Our family of four was privileged to serve as missionaries to France and Belgium for many years. That meant that every one of our vacations was a European vacation. From our home south of Brussels, we could be in London before lunch, the Swiss border in five hours, Paris in three hours, Amsterdam in […]
Our family of four was privileged to serve as missionaries to France and Belgium for many years. That meant that every one of our vacations was a European vacation. From our home south of Brussels, we could be in London before lunch, the Swiss border in five hours, Paris in three hours, Amsterdam in two […]
I love to visit bookstores. Like my wife loves good chocolate, I love good bookstores. I walk in the door and my pulse quickens, my fingers twitch, and my eyes flicker like I’ve had ten Italian espressos. This is especially true of used book stores where X marks the spot for hidden treasure just waiting […]
Esther was an orphan. She had never known her homeland, only life in exile. Her nation had been conquered and its people carried off. She lived as a third-culture citizen: she was from neither here nor from there. Officially, she and her people were free to return home, but life in a foreign land was […]
Years ago pastors were expected to handle FIVE primary tasks, but studies today reveal that the number has swelled to SIXTEEN. This increase in primary responsibilities has at least TEN effects on pastors and churches: 1. The sheer number of tasks means the pastor does each task with less excellence and effectiveness; 50% of pastors […]
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