#1 – Would I attend this church if I were not on staff?
If the answer is “no” then you should resign…immediately. God hasn’t called people in the ministry to work with a half hearted effort…and if you don’t believe in the vision/mission of your church enough to say that you would be there if they were not paying you then I am afraid your hearts isn’t there anyway.
#2 – Would I volunteer in the area I am working in if I were not on staff?
This question speaks …

Leaders often find themselves stretched and overcommitted due to a desire to see progress. When asked to do, help, or perform, the passionate leader feels obligated to always say, “Yes”. However, there are times when the correct answer is, “No”… Sometimes, it’s just a bad idea. Sometimes it’s a good cause, but committing oneself would cost too much time or effort, or sacrifice the effectiveness of something else. Sometimes it simply doesn’t fit your mission. The reality is, it’s very hard for leaders to say No. Michael Hyatt has some …

You have to decide to be good at what you do. Once you have made the decision to do so, Super-Competent by productivity expert Laura Stack, provides the method. Laura has identified six key attitudes or mindsets of people she says are ‘super competent’. that make up the Super Competent person:
Key 1: Activity. They are driven by intense focus on priorities and have a clear sense of direction.
Action: You need to determine what you should be working on.
Key 2: Availability. They control their schedules.
Action: You need to …

Speaking from my limited view, I feel like so much of the problem with pastors is they are just scared to death. They’re scared of their people, they’re scared of deacons, they’re scared, they’re scared, they’re scared. You know, if you’re scared of someone you can’t lead them; you can hardly even influence them. Here’s the pastor who’s been hired ? I tell our business guys all the time, “You’d never go to work for an organization where the customers can hire and fire the president of the company they …

Mark Batterson gives his list of staff expectations recently at his Evotional Blog.
1) I expect loyalty. I’ve got your back and you’ve got my back.
2) I expect you to be growing spiritually. This is my primary concern. It is so easy for those of us in full-time ministry to seek God for others instead of seeking God for ourselves. We’ve got to do ministry out of the overflow of what God is doing in our lives!
3) I expect a positive attitude. Attitude really is everything. And I’ve learned that how …

Professor Grant Horner was flown to 3-day interview/grilling process at Master’s College. At the end of the interview he was ushered in to Dr. MacArthur’s private study, where he was asked one question: “Can I see your Bible?”
Horner thought he would be horrified, because it looked like it had been through a typhoon — unloved and neglected. That old Scofield was literally read to tatters by then — covers absolutely gone, spine vanished away, glue-backing visible and all curled up, stitching coming apart, the prefatory material destroyed all the way up to …

Traditional ministry is action based. It follows the following progression:

Action (starts with deciding what you want to do)
Program (developing a program to accomplish the same)
Mission (adapting that to your mission)
Vision (basing your vision on your program’s potential)
Formation (praying for God to bless what you have done)

Passion-based ministry is God based. It follows the following progression:

Formation (starts with relationship with God until He births in you what He wants you to do)
Vision (basing your vision on what God says it is)
Mission (your purpose in fulfilling God’s vision)
Ministry (replaces programs)
Action (all about …

Here are some ways you can make a positive impact in the critically important area of reaching a younger generation:

Seek to create an authentic environment within the church community. One of the biggest church detractors for those 18-30 is when they sense they can’t be real about their struggles and brokenness.
Refer to the younger generation as the church of today, not the church of tomorrow. This communicates you value them for the gifts, talents and abilities they have to offer now— not just in the future.
Allow them to help lead in the …

By J. Grant Swank, Jr.
Having preached sermons for over thirty years, I have tried the various sermonic forms and concluded that expository preaching is best.
Why?
(l) Expository preaching stays close to the revealed Truth. There is no other Book like His Book. Therefore, to drift from it is to slide into relativism and personal opinions. To stay close to it is continually to come under its eternal light.
More and more, the revealed Truth is being sidelined for flash and fake. It is being substituted with cute and cunning. Nevertheless, God never …

Here are the ten most common reasons the dechurched said they left the church between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two:
1. Simply wanted a break from church.
2. Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical.
3. Moved to college and stopped attending church.
4. Work responsibilities prevented me from attending.
5. Moved too far away from the church to continue attending.
6. Became too busy though still wanted to attend.
7. Didn’t feel connected to the people in my church.
8. Disagreed with the church’s stance of political or social issues.
9. Chose to spend more time with friends …