How To's

Frank Laubach, literacy pioneer and beloved brother in Christ, used to call short prayers “prayer arrows.”  Short sentences sent heavenward to praise, give thanks, intercede or summon the Lord’s assistance have a potency all their own. The hypocrites think they will be heard for their “much speaking.” (Oh, I pray for two hours every morning. You…

The first year church plant experience is equal parts excitement, exhaustion, and holy uncertainty. Every Sunday feels like a new beginning, and every sermon carries weight beyond its word count. Preaching shapes the culture of a new congregation long before programs or ministries take root. That’s why the kind of preaching you offer in these…

It’s funny that the Old Testament’s references to envy focus on God’s people looking outward to the world (“sinners”). They were not to envy wrongdoers. The New Testament’s references, by contrast, are directed inwardly, warning believers against envying each other. For those of us who know the inner workings of church life, we fully understand…

The marks on the back door tell of the growth of the children over the years. The clothing in back of the closet the kids can no longer wear speak of the growth of your young’uns. The escalating cost of schoolbooks as the kids move into high school and then into college bear eloquent testimony…

Anyone who has lived through the emotional rollercoaster of church planting knows that timing can feel like everything. The calendar looms large. Seasons come with their own momentum, challenges, routines, and anxieties. So leaders often ask whether there is a single best time of year to launch a church plant. The short answer is that…

My friend and mentor Dr. James Richardson used to tell of a neighboring pastor who constantly griped about how busy he was.  “That was the laziest preacher on the planet,” said James. In reflecting on over sixty years of service in the Kingdom, I suspect that what sometimes comes across as pastoral laziness is more…