Category: Making Disciples | Coaching for Pastors

Soul Care Begins With the Pastor

According to the apostle Paul, the pastor’s first priority in soul care ministry is to himself.

The Human Brain Resists Change

Our brains create powerful nerual pathways known as “habits” that help us get through the day. They are very difficult to unlearn.

The Wealthy Pauper

The wealthy pauper has abundant wealth but is impoverished in soul and spirit.

Four Powerful Reasons Your Church Should Celebrate Pentecost

Quick question! When is Pentecost Sunday this year? Sunday, May 20. Did you know? Maybe not. Why? Because there is no “Pentecost Bunny,” stores have not decorated a month ahead of time for Pentecost, and there are no “Pentecost sales.” In other words, Pentecost has not been co-opted by commercialism or consumerism. I recently noted

1 Key to Church Turnaround

I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. After all, our church has been in sustained evangelistic prayer for more than a year. We followed Jesus’ instructions to “pray the Lord of the hardest to send out laborers into his harvest.” For the past year our church has been serving needs of those living in

The high cost of low expectations

The American Church is suffering the high cost of low expectations. I’m not referring to the low expectations that consumer driven churches have of their members. I refer to the low expectations our American way of “doing church” places on pastors. They burn themselves out, and churches use them up, chasing low expectations. Although these

Every sermon must include this

Preachers are never lacking in what to preach. Topical and verse-by-verse preachers share the same library of 66 books. Every page is filled with stuff to preach. But sometimes we lose sight of why we’re preaching. Expository preachers think they’re supposed to preach the geek stuff. Topical preachers think they’re supposed to make the Bible

The Turnaround Pastor’s Greatest Challenge: Making Disciples

What’s the Turnaround Pastor’s greatest challenge, the one that outweighs all others? Maybe you think it’s one of these: Getting the church on a solid financial footing Eliminating unproductive programs and activities Renewing passion and vision in the church’s leaders Resolving long running conflicts between members Initiating church discipline against an errant saint Discerning God’s vision Revitalizing stale worship services

Where would you draw the line?

How would you react when the church you’re serving as an intentional interim pastor gets wrapped around the axle over a basic “Christianity 101” doctrine of the faith? The last thing you need is a “headache” but you’ve also got a call – to speak to the needs of the congregation that were surfaced in

Making Disciples