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church body check-up
Having a healthy body means having regular physicals and exams with medical specialists. Having a healthy church body means that we do the same thing as its leaders. We think this idea of evaluating systems is so important, we want to give you a free Church Body Check-up.
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PHRASES FOR STAGES
Phrases for Stages is a daily email that contains ‘just the right phrase for the right time’ you may find helpful in your preaching, leadership, or even personal life. These words of wisdom have been collected over decades by David Vaughan.
All-In Baptism Day Kit: The Tool Your Church Needs to Inspire More Baptisms
Imagine baptizing more people into Christ at your church in one day than you have baptized in a month or even a year. Imagine hearing stories of life-change reverberate throughout your ministry for weeks and months...not to mention eternity! Not only is this...
Avoiding a Mount Carmel Meltdown
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah the man of God was ready to turn in his prophet’s badge. One of the greatest prophets in the entire Bible was burned out and bummed out. He was discouraged, depleted, and done.He was also extremely lonely. Clearly he isn’t the...
A Raccoon, a Mayor, and a Rural Revival
What if I told you that there is a growing church located in a declining town in rural Kentucky? What if I told you that this church is over 193 years old? What if I told you that the colorful and legendary Restoration Movement leader, “Raccoon” John Smith,...
Feeling like a Ministry Imposter?
I heard someone say something years ago that I have seen to be so true: God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called.Need evidence? Look at all that God has done (and is doing) in and through you. We weren't much when God called us, but we are much for...
Living Soulistically
Sometimes, I make up words. Do you ever do that? Occasionally, no word already in usage satisfactorily captures what you want to get across. So, you just make one up. I get it. In a session earlier this year, I told my counselor that I want to help local...
The Day I Met Arnold Palmer
Known as the ‘King’ of Golf, Arnold Palmer had his own ‘Army’ of fans. I was one. When I heard of his passing a few years ago, it brought to mind a summer day in Lexington, Kentucky, 35 years ago. Arnold was playing in a tourney there, where I was a youth...
No One Understands a Preacher Like Another Preacher
A little boy asked his Daddy, who was a preacher, “Daddy, every Sunday morning when you come out to preach, I see you sit up by the pulpit, and you bow your head for a long time. What are you doing?” The father replied, “I’m asking the Lord to give me a good sermon...
The only thing that doesn’t change in a church
Change is in the air. Fall is here, the temperature is dropping, and the leaves are changing. Daylight Saving Time weekend (a change with our clocks) is just around the corner. If there is one thing I’ve learned in life and ministry: change is...
What is a ‘prevailing church?’
Gene Appel, a good friend and admired pastoral colleague, recently led a tremendously helpful and practical webinar on the topic of leading change for the CCL Network. Gene co-authored a book with Alan Nelson, titled How To Change Your Church Without Killing It, in...
Taking Risks for God
In baseball, you can’t steal second and keep your foot on first. You have to venture into ‘the zone of the unknown’ and take some risks to win the game. The same is true for a church working right: prudent risks advance His mission.
