Pre-COVID-19, you could attend just about any church next Sunday and you would see the usual obvious things taking place: people are greeted, songs are sung, Scripture is read, a sermon is preached. All good stuff. These days, people watch church online, attend parking lot services, or gather in small groups. Church looks different, but the same […]
How to Have your Best Year of Ministry So Far [Video]
Sometimes it just takes a little bit of help. Some new ideas. A bit of wisdom that’s just what you needed to hear. A story about what another church is doing that’s working. That’s what Monthly PastorMentor is all about. Check out this video to see if Hal’s mentoring might help your church grow, then […]
What if You Could Create a New National Holiday?
If you could create a new national holiday, what would it be like? When would you hold it? What would you call it? If I could create a holiday, here’s what it would look like… This new holiday would be one that draws families together. Not for yard work or sports competitions or a day […]
The Surprising Sabbath Church Growth Strategy
Have you ever noticed what God did on the seventh day of Creation? Sure. He rested. We know from Genesis 2 that God had completed the work of creation and he rested. But there is a nugget in Genesis 2:3. Unlike the other days when he called his work good, on the seventh day, God […]
7 Actions that will Double the Quality of your Preaching
It’s stretching, right? Standing up to preach every weekend. Insecurity mixes in with your faith that God will work through you. You know He can do it through you – unless you get in the way. Here are seven practices I use to improve the quality of my preaching. Which should you add to your preaching […]
Why you Need to Fight for Sundays
I’ve seen squared-away Marines wipe away their tears during church. I’ve had people tell me that they don’t know why, but they cry every week during church for months when they first start coming. I know why, and I bet you do, too. There is a spiritual transaction that happens when we come to church […]
How to Use a Better Standard to Measure Church Success
I don’t know where we got the idea that church success should be measured in nickels and noses (or attendance and dollars). I affirm that large numbers in church is better than small and more money for ministry is better than less. But if Jesus’ goal is to build his church, I believe there are better questions than, “How many were here last week? And How much did they give?”
How to Let the Bible Master You
During the final week of writing The Bible Questions, I had an epiphany. As I started the final five chapters on how to study the Bible in life-changing ways, a thought popped into my head: It really is possible for people to be mastered by the Bible. How could that happen? Malcolm Gladwell, in his excellent book Outliers quotes […]