Hey Friend - Over the next few weeks, I want to help you understand the unique way we are wired to do ministry. I talk with pastors all the time about how each day brings a new sort of challenge. We all know Matthew 25:23, but sometimes we might wrap up a work day and repeat “well done, good and faithful servant” after having to pivot and deal with insurance or other frustrating issues all day. So let me ask you two questions. What fills you? What drains you? Do your favorite parts of...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
What church doesn’t want more visitors? I’ve never met one that doesn’t. What I have encountered is churches trying to get an understanding of what it means to see an appropriate amount of visitors. For some, they are in so much anxiety over growth they can’t even begin to think about it. It might even be a point of argument when leadership meets. If the conversation stays in an emotional zone, you will never be able to start to understand where to begin. Also, in many of these situations,...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Hey Friends - This is email 8, the last email in our Vitality Matrix series. If you missed an email, here are the archives. Also, I’ve got some special news to share with you first at the bottom of the email. Is my church healthy? | Email 1How healthy are the relationships in your church? | Email 2How good are your metrics (and do they really matter)? | Email 3What does financial vitality look like in your church? | Email 4Beyond biscuits and Coffee (what is your ministry strategy?). | Email...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
I’ve practiced Lent in some manner for almost 20 years of my life. I didn’t grow up with it as a spiritual practice, but it came into my life in early adulthood and has stayed. Lent and Leaving Louisiana Behind I live in Louisiana, so it is impossible to not know something about Lent. As a child, during Lent, public school cafeterias stopped serving hamburgers during Lent and instead gave us fried fish. All I knew back then was Lent was this season when Catholics gave things up. I learned in...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Thanks for tuning in as I’ve been walking through the Vitality Matrix. It’s a great tool to help normal-sized local churches understand ministry health. Today, we are talking about core category 6. Here are the archives if you want to read the whole series. Is my church healthy?How healthy are the relationships in your church?How good are your metrics (and do they really matter)?Beyond biscuits and coffee (what's your strategy for ministry?)What does financial vitality look like?How easy is...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Hey Friend - One of the greatest spiritual breakthroughs I have ever had is beginning to practice thankfulness daily. I picked it up from Pete Greig. His “rejoice” segment in the prayer model of P.R.A.Y (Pause. Rejoice. Ask. Yield) got me onto it. But it was a variety of writing about the sociological uniqueness of life in the Western World of radical individualism that made me start leaning into it. It is the marriage of rejoicing and yielding that confronted me with my own individualism....
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Hey Friend - Thanks for opening up the email. This is the 6th email in a series on what we here in Louisiana the Vitality Matrix. If you missed any of the previous emails, here are the archives. This email focuses on New Member Integration. Before we leap into the details, let's lay some groundwork. We're going to examine how churches fit into four vitality categories: unstable, stable, vital, and sustainable. Each has its own way of connecting with our central theme. First, this is bigger...
2 months ago • 3 min read
I made the decision last year to start writing theologically again. I never intended for it to be primarily informed by my devotional life, but I’m realizing it keeps bringing things up to the top. It was several years ago, 2019 I think, when I decided to preach 100% from the gospels. This exploration began with what we called "The Year of Jesus," a year of preaching many different parts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It was in the research for one of those messages that I stumbled across...
2 months ago • 5 min read
Hey Friend - Hey Crew - This is email 5 in our series on the Vitality Matrix and 7 core categories of vitality. If you missed any of the previous emails you can find the archives here. Is my church healthy? (understanding the vitality matrix) How healthy are the relationships in your church? How good are your metrics (and do they really matter)? What does financial vitality look like in a church? Today we will focus on core category four, Ministry Opportunities. Category one was about the...
3 months ago • 3 min read