This weekend we’re doing a staff retreat and we’re going to talk about a number of things, including setting some measurable goals for different ministry areas. I really struggle with how to appropriately measure what happens at a church. Typically, the two measurements most church leaders pay attention to are nickels and noses. While I […]

Like many of you, I am embarassed by the kind of things churches put up on their signs. Sometimes they’re cheesy. Sometimes they’re silly. Sometimes they’re offensive. Sometimes they’re meaningless. What if churches started thinking of their signs as message boards that could be used to have a meaningful conversation with those who drive by? […]

I thought summers were supposed to bring about a slower pace to ministry. So far I’ve been running at breakneck speed. Rather than give you the usual post about how I’m too busy too blog (I promise never to do that here.), I’d like to point you over to the piece that Jim Henderson has […]

At the final session of the Emergent Convention, we read the following statements out loud together. By posting these statements here, I’m both affirming them and declaring my intention to live them out in my context. You can read more about them here. 1. Commitment to God in the Way of Jesus: We are committed […]

Internet access has been hard to come by, so here are some accumulated notes and observations from my time here so far. Most pastors struggle with either “super-pastor” (I can do it all) syndrome or “struggling pastor despair” (Look at me, I?m broken). Both are masks we hide behind to conceal our true selves. What […]

From Christian Week (via Jordon Cooper) The Meeting House, a Brethren In Christ multi-site congregation that calls itself a “church for people who aren’t into church,” regularly invites those who don’t want to “get in” to their church by making a demonstrable commitment, to “get out.” Known to church staff by the tongue-in-cheek label “purge […]