Scientific Church

These are just some of the vital systems needed in a healthy church in order for her to fulfill her mission…to see people come to know Christ and follow him in all with of their heart. Seems in most churches we were afraid of Scientific Management so we reacted and never developed systems.

Releasing Southeast

Today, I spoke with Ryan Carrell, founding pastor of the Southeast Project, a church on the southeast side of Indianapolis. I tried for two weeks to connect with Ryan to hear about their recent 3-year anniversary. As a church planter in a portable church, he has many irons in the fire. When I finally caught him, he so honestly shared some of what was keeping him busy—he was releasing Southeast.

How Healthy is Your Culture

I believe that one of the primary, if not THE most important, responsibilities of leadership is to create a CULTURE of health and vitality.

Thoughts on Coaching…from a restaurant?

Recently, my wife and I stopped at Coach’s Bar & Grill for dinner. What I saw on the back of the menu struck me…

Reflections from Sabbatical – Part 3

In this article I want to talk about what to do in preparation for a sabbatical to increase the likelihood that it goes smoothly and doesn’t have ministry interruptions. Al Ells (www.leadersthatlast.org) coached me on some of these and I just lucked out on the others.

Reflections from Sabbatical – Part 2

Every leader needs a trusted and wise mentor to speak into his or her life, someone in his or her life with whom they are transparent and who has permission to speak into his or her life. I am a better person, husband, father, pastor and leader from having Al as a “mean friend” over the last 11 years. And the time with him while on sabbatical was priceless and will impact me for the rest of my life.

Putting Big Dreams Into Boxes

Every day we are bombarded by messages, advertisements, people, telling us to get out of the box! We live in a culture that celebrates innovation, free thinking, and “the next best thing”: all of which come from “getting out of the box”. Being outside of the box is, indeed, a […]

Reflections from Sabbatical – Part 1

Stress and fatigue have a compounding effect on the leader of an organization (church, ministry or even a business). I love leading. It is something that I feel called to do by God and something that He has equipped me to do. I find leading fulfilling and satisfying. What I was oblivious to is how stress from leading builds up over an extended period of time, much like multiple coats of paint on a wall.

Walk around like you have no idea what you’re doing

For one week, I dare you to walk around like you have no idea what you’re doing.
You may be surprised how inaccessible churches can be to new guests.

Bulbs Create Light

Jesus talks about four kinds of people in the Kingdom when he describes the seeds sown on the soil (Matthew 13). Today I find there are these six types of people in the church with regard to how we handle our light (Matthew 5.14).