Pastoral Leadership and the Economy

Posted on February 27, 2018
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The decline of the American church is often overblown. However, we have felt a seismic shift in cultural values in the 21st century. Even in the โ€˜Bible Beltโ€™, it canโ€™t simply be presumed that most peopleโ€™s moral frameworks are founded on even a hazy understanding of the Bible. In looking for guidance in the behaviors…

Interview: Matt Canlis of Godspeed

Posted on January 15, 2018
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Matt Canlis wasnโ€™t too different from most young ministers at the tail end of seminary. He was full of big ideas for big churches. But unlike most young ministers, he benefited from a mentoring word from Eugene Peterson, who counseled him to put off being swallowed up by the โ€œAmerican Church Machineโ€ and discover a…

Giving Even When You Receive

Posted on December 7, 2017
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Last week, I talked about how to encourage generosity at the end of the year by making ย growing generosity a part of your teaching ministry, and teachers need to be creative. We’ve talked about getting creative by making a Christmas Wish List for your church. Itโ€™s a way to engage the people directly with the…

Make a Christmas Wish List for Your Church

Posted on November 30, 2017
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We’ve talked a lot about increasing generosity at the end of the year. As weโ€™ve posted elsewhere, the end of the year brings challenges. Youโ€™ve got this yearโ€™s budget gaps, next yearโ€™s budget planning, end-of-the-year appeal lettersโ€”itโ€™s a lot. On top of that, Christmas is fast approaching. There are two temptations during seasons like this…

What’s on Your Christmas Wish List?

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At LeaderWorks, we are all about helping church leaders do their work. To that end, we posted a new idea for helping your church give in the final month of the year: make a Christmas Wish List for your church! Still, you deserve more than a lump of coal, so take a break and write…

Interview: Arrabon

Posted on November 27, 2017
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After the events in Charlottesville in August, I came across an article by Doug Paul of Missio Alliance with a catchy and convicting subtitle: “When a Generation of Church Planters Reach Only White Peopleโ€ In reviewing the book The Creative Class, Paul argues (persuasively) that in creating โ€˜hipโ€™ church plants, many young pastors may be inadvertently…

House Calls: A Pastor’s Guide to Talking to Donors

Posted on November 16, 2017
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It’s the time of year when church leaders start to see lots of redโ€”and it isn’t always early Christmas decorations! Many churches have deficits they need to close by year’s end. I have been there many (MANY) times. Sometimes, these gaps are relatively small. All you need is to remember to ‘double December’ and take…

Trellises and Vines

Posted on November 14, 2017
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The Church is a tended vine. The metaphor runs through all of scripture, from Isaiah 5 to John 15. It’s our model for making disciples. But have we taken a moment to ask what we know about the plants themselves? Consider: Some days our churches feel very aligned with these descriptors, don’t they? We imagine…

LeaderWorks Update

Posted on November 13, 2017
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Hereโ€™s a round-up of the latest news and resources from LeaderWorks: Thanks for your continued support of LeaderWorks. Sign up for our newsletter this week; we are about to send out a free resource for your ministry! David+

LeaderWorks Updates

Posted on October 30, 2017
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Itโ€™s been a little while since we highlighted whatโ€™s happening over at LeaderWorks. Hereโ€™s a round-up of the latest news and resources: Thanks for your continued support of LeaderWorks. Stay in touch through our newsletter, and let us know how we can help you do your work! David+