This is the sixth installment in a series based on my adventures in planting a church.  For more information on the series, or to see what else we have walked through, check out the original post.  My hope is to use this series to develop a resource for planters as they are thinking about diving in, or need to process their current situation… this resource is incomplete without your contribution (that is a subtle way of [...]

I met Andy Needham ten years ago while he was leading worship at youth ministry retreat in New Hampshire.  Andy has a heart for worship, and is a talented worship leader (a rare gift)… his new project, The Andy Needham Band, is doing some amazing things all up and down the east coast… you really need to check them out and follow what he is up to.  Check out some of Andy’s thoughts: Our new [...]

This is the fifth installment in a series based on my adventures in planting a church.  For more information on the series, or to see what else we have walked through, check out the original post.  My hope is to use this series to develop a resource for planters as they are thinking about diving in, or need to process their current situation… this resource is incomplete without your contribution (that is a subtle way of [...]

In one of the coaching cohorts that I am helping to facilitate we have been talking about our leadership histories.  As the conversation went on, the group pushed me to share with them a list of what I value in the leadership culture of a church, and the ministries that I lead.    Now, the understanding here is that orthodoxy is not at question… there can be many fine, Bible believing churches that do not [...]

Ah, Valentine’s Day:  A time of love, hallmark making a killer profit, and the dude at 1-800-Flowers customer service call center offering to tell your wife that you really did have flowers ordered, and UPS killed them.  Yup, the one day of the year that flowers need to be on time, and nothing.  If nothing else, it makes for a funny story to remember next year… hope your Valentine’s day went smoother. So, while you [...]

I first learned the power of a hand written note while serving as a youth pastor in New Jersey.  Each year I would buy a stack of Christmas cards, and send them to all my students.  Instead of just signing my name, I would personalize each one with something that I appreciated about them, an inside joke that only the two of us got, or celebrating a significant event of the past year.  Because writing [...]

This is the fourth installment in a series based on my adventures in planting a church.  For more information on the series, or to see what else we have walked through, check out the original post.  My hope is to use this series to develop a resource for planters as they are thinking about diving in, or need to process their current situation… this resource is incomplete without your contribution (that is a subtle way [...]

Regardless of what we do, regardless of our local context, leadership at its very core is about people.  Ministry leadership, while grounded in God’s Word, is no different.    Tom Endersbe, Jay Therrien, and Jon Wortmann’s book Three Commitments of Leadership calls leaders to create an environment that is created to developing clarity, stability, and rhythm in the lives of their teams. As I think back on the teams that I have been a part of [...]

Last Tuesday I started a series sharing some of what I learned while planting a church.  My top secret plan in all this is to turn the comments section of these posts into a powerful resource for planters, and potential planters… so please, share your wisdom, insight, and experiences and let’s walk through this together. Thursday I shared the first of three thoughts I had for those who are thinking about church planting: Limit Your Exposure.  Today, I [...]

Tears were streaming down his face as he silently wept: “I can see it so clearly… I just haven’t had the ability to put it into words… which makes people think I don’t know where we are going.” Clarity is powerful. One of my most favorite things to do through my work with Church Simple is to help church leaders clearly communicate what it is that they are called to… and then helping them do [...]