
What Small Churches Can Do, Part One
As I have seen several churches in my area continue to dwindle in size I have watched the leadership of many of these churches settle into into one of three dangerous mentalities . . .

The Importance of Memorizing Scripture
Why memorize the Scriptures? What would be the benefits of this practice that most people would consider obsolete today, in an age in which the digital revolution has all but made it redundant?

Four Evangelism Myths
In order to combat this we need to speak truth to our hearts. We need to remind ourselves of the truth of Scripture. This is no less important in the area of evangelism. We need to debunk the myths that are too easily believed and cling instead to what God has said and done.

How to Deal with Persistent Guilt
When guilt persists, remember where Jesus is and where he's been.

Pummeling Pastoral Pride
Three practical tips to help pastors squash pride and cultivate humility

What's Wrong With Buying Your Way Onto the Bestseller List?
… or buying Twitter followers or gaming the analytics to inflate website stats, etc.
At least 5 things:
1. It's dishonest.
No, it's not illegal. But neither are lots of unethical, dishonest things. The asumption that people make when they see "Bestseller" labeled on a book or 600,000 followers on your Twitter page is that you came by those accomplishments the straightforward way: attracting…

Inning by Inning
Helping New Believers Follow Along
How often are we great at making an invitation or giving information, but unwilling to be in it for the long haul? How often do we simply expect people to know things they aren't supposed to know? Helping new believers and those curious about the faith requires not just an invitation to the game, but nine innings of investment.

Six Guardrails for Multisite Churches
This isn't simply a "megachurch problem." The heart of the issue is found in congregations of 80 people as well as those with attendance in excess of 8,000. Many churches of all sizes struggle with this same issue: pastors who build a strong vision tied only to themselves leave congregations with significant challenges when the eventual change of leadership occurs. So what’s to be done?

Gospel Affection
There are many ways in which we should be loving one another in the church, and most of these practical steps might seem like no-brainers, but it's always a spiritually healthy and Christ-honoring exercise to work through how we might flesh out 1 John 3:18: "Let us love not in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

How to Get Your Small Group to Like You
While you may not have "get my small group to like me" written out as an explicit goal in your community efforts, it’s still in the back of your mind, whether you’re a leader or a group member. Nearly everybody wants to be liked. That's not a terrible thing. Caring what others think (while not being dominated by that) shapes our responses, and helps us become more loving and generous.
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Learning from Conflict
In truth, we often experience conflict in our lives and leadership because of our own actions, insecurities, and ill-motivated decisions. Since this is true, it is important for leaders to learn to ponder the hardships they face by first looking internally at what might be driving conflict with others—including their own lack of character and/or competence.

Building a Church Planting Culture in Your Church
Building a culture of church planting begins by making it personal to your people. When planting becomes personal, your people will pray for it, give to it, talk about it and celebrate it. These priorities will build a culture of planting in your church.

Enduring Motivation for Ministry as a Pastor's Wife
I’d been a pastor’s wife for less than a year when I began preparing my exit strategy . . .

The Challenge of Contending
How do we contend for the faith and guard the gospel without being argumentative, judgmental, or cantakerous?

The Vital Importance of Spiritual Friendship
Most people tend to have foes and fans but very few people have friends. Too few people enjoy true relationships with other people.

God, the Gospel, and Getting Things Done
Panel Discussion with Matt Perman, Jason Allen, and Charles Smith
Midwestern Seminary's President Jason K. Allen and Vice President for Institutional Relations Charles Smith discuss the practicalities of gospel-centered productivity with Matt Perman, leadership coach and author of What's Best Next?

Dinner and Discussion
God, the Gospel, and Getting Things Done
Everyday Evangelism
Every other year I try to go to a conference hosted by Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY Together for the Gospel. Not only is a great time to hear the Word preached and fellowship with folks I haven't seen in years, but it is a great opportunity to pick up a lot of books. Every year I go, I come back with at least 40-50 books. Most of those are…
The 21st Century Missionary
What is it really like on the mission field? What is it that a missionary actually does (or should do) on the mission field? Sometimes we have a mistaken idea of missionary life. We might think missionary families are surrounded by wild animals or are in danger from hostile tribes. This is not usually the case but… We were in language school in Kenya in preparation to go to Tanzania…
Simplified Evangelism
“It's not that complicated.” How many times have you said this to someone? How many times has someone said it to you? If we're honesttoo many to count (on both accounts). Our ability to overthink and over-complicate our tasks is like spam for our productivity. Consider how free you feel when a task is simplified, steps are outlined, and a plan is in place.
Let's remember that our…
Growth in Christ Takes Effort
When I was in seminary, I had to take two language classes Greek and Hebrew. The first language class I took was turbo Greek. They call it turbo Greek because they squished two semesters worth of Greek into two months. I took these two classes over the summer and they were the only classes I took.
One thing I realized quickly was that if I was going…
The Purpose of Work You're Missing
We rarely say this out loud, but functionally, most of us believe that our responsibility is to just take of ourselves and our family. And if we do that, it's all good. If we do that, we've responded rightly to God's plan for our work and resources. So, it doesn't really matter what's happening in our neighborhood. It doesn't really matter what's happening in our city. Unless, of course, the…

What's Wrong With Producing a "Worship Experience"?
"The only thing of value the church has to offer is the gospel."
3 Steps to Overcoming Mistakes
A good leader is… 1. Humble enough to admit his mistakes
Surrender your self-righteousness. Refuse to shift blame onto people and circumstances.
2. Wise enough to profit from them
Surrender your self-protection. Open yourself to the correction and insight of others.
3. Courageous enough to correct them
Surrender your comfort. Pour yourself into the mission.
The experience of failing does not…
Overcoming Anger
In my assessment for church planting with the SBC back in 2000 I was told by one of the assessors that I had an anger problem. I argued that I did not. A lot. Half way through the conversation let's just say my anger decided to join the conversation. I spent many years being angry—from my youth to well into adulthood. Before my conversion it could be violent. After my…
Redeeming Practice
Unless you're Allen Iverson (the 90s version), you can't just flip a switch. You're not going to be dominant in the game if you're not deliberate in practice. You're not going to be able to sit on your hands for weeks and months and still manage to accomplish your goals.
Time is not going to be your friend, but it doesn't have to be your constant enemy.
…Two Keys to Better Recreation
Today is my first day back from two weeks of vacation. The time off was great, and because the vacation was a real success I'm eager to get back to the regular life God has called me to. This is the real end (goal) of all our recreation: to fit us to do what God has called us to. Richard Baxter says it well:
No doubt but…