What’s behind my upcoming book “Guardrails”?
Why another book on discipleship? That's the question. There is a lot of good material out there on discipleship, some aimed at strategy, others aimed at foundations and still others aimed at technique. In September Guardrails; Six Principles for a Multiplying Church...
6 Crucial Practices for Longevity in the ‘hood
As we age our perspective changes. I look for different things than I used to. I am less drawn to the shiny and more drawn to the healthy. As I meet more ministry leaders, pastors, catalysts and neighborhood practitioners I am looking for something I haven't before;...
9 Flavors of Bivocational
There are 1,000 ways to skin a cat. There 5 ways to cook a turkey. There are at least 9 ways to be bivocational. Every year more church leaders need to find income from non-traditional sources, and this is a crucial conversation to both personal sustainability and the...
11 Questions to ask before starting something
There is a lot of talk these days about startups. It’s almost an obsession in our culture. I heard a stat today that 54% of college students say they want to be part of a startup. The truth is startups are hard, take a lot of energy, and many people simply are not...
The Search for the Designer Church
As I write this I am sitting in an Instagram-perfect coffee shop. It’s hip. Sweet tattoos are everywhere. The bike rack is propping up a few vintage cruiser bikes, and the parking lot is full of nice cars. I drove past four or five “regular” coffee shops to rent a...
To the one who got passed over
I connect with a lot of young, passionate humans who want to change the world. Many are looking for their chance to find a ministry position where they can make an impact. Many of them sit and process with me when their break didn't work out and someone else got the...
A slew of questions to ask before planting a church
Humility is key to church planting. Questions are key to humility. This means that church planters, or those considering planting a church, should be great question askers. Here is a list of questions I ask and encourage church planters to ask. How is God already at...
Craft evangelism in a mass-produced world
I love watching a baptism celebration. There are few things that excite me more. I am lucky (blessed is probably the right word) to be in a church to experience a lot of baptisms every year. Over the past two years I have observed every baptism asking the question,...
6 questions shaping your sabbath
There's a lie floating around out there that goes something like this; getting older will automatically make you closer to Jesus. Just the mere passing of days doesn't do that. I sure wish it was that easy. In the book In the name of Jesus Henri Nouwen says this, "...
6 questions shaping your week of ministry
Most leaders I know are wrestling with time. To be more accurate they are actually wrestling with priorities. We have time for a lot of things, but the problem is usually in our selection process (or lack thereof) that clarifies what we give our time to. One moment a...
