In Bob Dylan's classic song The Times They Are A-Changin' he makes a poetic call to embrace change; it is "sink or swim". Come gather 'round people       Wherever you roamAnd admit that the watersAround you have grownAnd accept it that soonYou'...

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk a...

Every church has a marketing plan!  The only difference is that some are better than others!  When I think of marketing I think of building a relationship with those within reach of your ministry who know nothing about your church or are disconnected from your people.  This week we...

To some marketing is a dirty word. It turns their stomachs and fires them up emotionally. I remember a pastor once telling me, “Marketing, I don’t get it! You never see Jesus using a postcard!� To which I replied, “I never saw Jesus use a microphone either. What’s the difference?� If we ...

Details!  For driven leaders it is easy to drive past the small things as you fix your eyes on the big goal. But neglecting the details can have a disastrous impact on a leader’s life, relationships and work.  Take sometime today and let Fenelon’s gentle words probe your life and bri...

Gentleness. A word that brings frustration to the minds of many natural leaders. Leaders like power, control, strength but gentleness does not fit our cultural picture of a leader. Gentleness is power under control when a leader is harsh and forceful they are trusting in their own power rather than ...

Small things done with great love will change the world!  This is the motto of Servant Evangelism developed and popularized by Steve Sjogren through his book Conspiracy of Kindness, his website and newsletters. Steve Sjogren is a church planting leader who has planted churches in Europe and thr...

Sowing seeds of Christ's incarnational love into your community is a key characteristic of a missional church.  NorthBridge Church in Antioch, IL, at their one year anniversary banquet, raised $17,000.00 to give into their community and cast the vision for three other churches to simply love a ...

When we started this evangelistic journey back in May we took a close look at the Three Spheres of Outreach which included: 1) The leader and the people they connect with during the week, 2) The church and those within their sphere of influence, 3) The unconnected, those who know nothing about the c...

My friend, Dave Olson, just released a groundbreaking book entitled: The American Church in Crisis. Order Here There are many that believe that the American church has been lulled asleep by its own press and endless activities to build itself up.  Dave Olson, with his relentless pursuit of trut...