Category: pastoring
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Jesus Has All Authority—Stop “Releasing” People to Do Ministry
I was talking with two friends recently, and one of them was wrestling with something I’ve heard many times before: “I want to make disciples in my home… but I’m not sure if I have permission.” This kind of confusion is more common than we’d like to admit. In many churches, faithful believers are left…
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2025 Theme: Patience and Presence
As we step into 2025, the dawn of a new year in our culture is an invitation to dream, plan, and set new goals. As a leader in the church and God’s kingdom, I have found this cultural rhythm to be a good opportunity to prayerfully consider what God may desire to do in my…
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Questions to Answer in Transition
I’ve primarily been focusing on missional communities over the last few months, but I wanted to take a quick break and post on another topic. Recently I’ve had a number of conversations with people who are interested in pursuing vocational ministry or who are in a season of transition. These conversations have given me the…
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The Lobby – Day 2
Today has been another encouraging and challenging day of conversation, and has left me with some good thinking to do. Session 5: Mission and Community We began the day today talking through the idea of mission, and how it plays out in community. My friend Spence Shelton gave me the opportunity to share the story…
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The Lobby – Day 1
It’s been a great day gathering with so many thoughtful and humble leaders here in Atlanta. Today was centered around four different discussions: Session 1: Disciple Making Our first discussion centered around the idea of making disciples, and Rick Howerton provoked some good healthy discussion and serious reflections on whether or not our systems were…
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The Lobby Conference
This week I will be spending time with many of the best and brightest small group thinkers in the country at The Lobby. I’m so thankful for our gracious hosts, North Point Community Church, and my friend Bill Willits. What questions would you love to ask guys like Steve Gladen, Bill Donahue, and many of the…
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Ministry vs. Discipleship
My friend Sean Eppers posted some content on the Woodlands Point Pastor’s blog that Tyler David and I did on “Ministry vs. Discipleship” for one of our staff meetings awhile ago. Below is a sample: Ministry Discipleship Reactive Proactive Ministry tends to involve a much lower level of relational investment, and for both parties there…
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The Church and The Surprising Offense of God’s Love
I’ve been reading The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love by Jonathan Leeman, and although I’ve had some disagreements with the book, it has been an excellent read. I wanted to share a few quotes that have been particularly challenging for me. Below is a good challenge to teaching “community” as the solution…
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Being a Pastor – Fun Sunday Questions
Here’s a rundown of some of the questions I was asked today from a variety of different people: Are you a young earth or old earth creationist? Can you tell me where the bathroom is? Can you find some people to pass the offering baskets? Why did God require a sacrifice for sin? What role…
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Avoiding the Bureaucratic Death Spiral | What’s Best Next
Matt Perman pulled a great quote from a book that I love, Good to Great by Jim Collins, over at What’s Best Next. The basic gist (for those who won’t read below), is that bureaucracy kills entrepreneurial spirit, while discipline sustains it. Entrepreneurial success is fueled by creativity, imagination, bold moves into uncharted waters, and…
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Discipleship and Ministry | Part 2
For my initial thoughts on the challenges of remaining faithful to discipleship in the midst of ministry, go here. I’d like to expand a little more fully on my thoughts from the last post. In brief, I’ve found that it can be extremely difficult to continually cultivate the centrality of discipleship, or the process of…
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People Work and Task Work
I’m learning a lot this week about the similarities and differences of people work and task work. My role has been shifting into a managerial and oversight role over a significant number of people, and this has required much more personal interaction and meeting than I have had in the past. Here’s a few things…