My youngest daughter, Tiffany, has survived a brain tumor and multiple brain surgeries. As a result, she has a heart for hurting people. A few times a month she took her dog LuLu to hospice care to visit patients, before LuLu passed away last year. A few years ago for several summers she served as a counselor at a camp […]
What I Learned from Kids who Survived Cancer Read More »
Unless you stay at the same church your entire life, you will leave one ministry or church and go to another, perhaps several times. In fact, the average pastor in the U.S. stays at one place about four years. I’ve served at six different churches in my 35 years in ministry and have always sought to leave
7 Ways to Make a Graceful Exit and Leave Your Church Well Read More »
This is an older post that you might find helpful as you prepare for this Christmas. It is an abbreviated text of my 2009 Christmas message I gave during our annual Christmas program. Note: our entire Christmas program was written by our church’s worship leader. It follows the story of a girl named Emma who was
A Fresh Perspective of the Christmas Story: through the Lens of Adoption Read More »
In August, Andy Stanley delivered a sermon that has upset many because he appeared to question biblical authority. You can hear his message, “Who Needs God? The Bible Told Me So,” here, read a negative critique by Albert Mohler here and read a positive one by Frank Turek here. In this post I’m not critiquing whether or not he undermined biblical authority. I
Should Andy Stanley have used Sermon Notes for His “The Bible Told Me So, Not” Sermon Read More »
My wife and I have 3 grown kids. One has survived a brain tumor, one was a straight arrow, and one was a challenge. My oldest daughter Heather (our challenge) even co-wrote a book with me about the experience in our family called Daughters Gone Wild-Dads Gone Crazy. I’ve excerpted 5 insights from our book about
Saving your Family without Killing Your Ministry Read More »
Larry Osborne, one of today’s most influential pastors and author of many books is my guest blogger today. He’s one of the most unassuming guys you’ll ever meet, but very wise and a great leader. You’ll enjoy this post. Everybody wants to leave a legacy. But the reality is we can’t control the impact or
Leading Well for the Long Haul Read More »
Last week the Acts 29 Network dismissed from its membership Seattle mega-church pastor Mark Driscoll and his church Mars Hill Church and asked for his resignation as pastor. This came as several controversies came to light about Mark and his church. Mars Hill’s accountability board countered with a statement of frustration that apparently that board had failed to personally
Mark Driscoll, and why Every Pastor Should be Taken Down Read More »
In a recent article I wrote for Churchleaders.com, 8 Surprising Insights from a Former Pastor, I shared 8 key insights I’ve learned during the last 18 months as a former pastor. I’ve served 32 years in vocational ministry and took off the past 18 months to write, coach pastors, travel, and begin another master’s degree. The Churchleaders.com
A Former Pastor’s Perspective on What Makes a Compelling Worship Service Read More »
Daughters Gone Wild, Dads Gone Crazy Battle-Tested Tips From a Father and Daughter Who Survived the Teenage Years Fifteen psychologists, twelve secondary schools, four expulsions, four rehabs, two house-arrests and innumerable arguments… the cast and plot line for a season’s worth of Law & Order? No. This was the real-life drama of my daughter’s adolescence.
Daughters Gone Wild – Dads Gone Crazy Read More »
I’ve served in the local church as a pastor for over 32 years, yet for the past year I’ve not served in an official pastoral role. After 7-1/2 wonderful years at a church in Aurora, IL, I left to accomplish several goals that I couldn’t have if I were on staff at a church. I
My Journey from Preacher to Parishoner-8 Insights I Learned as “no longer a pastor” Read More »
I help leaders lead and live smarter, better, and healthier with biblically-sound, brain-based solutions. If you need an outside voice with fresh eyes to spur you, your church, or ministry to a new level of effectiveness, start a conversation with me today.
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