Church
“Touch Base Weekly” – A Way to Check Up On Your Staff Without Overwhelming Them
When I served as the Associate Pastor for a large church I needed a way to connect with all my staff each week. In the same way, not that I am leading a smaller church, I want to ensure my staff feel cared for. Therefore I created a simple email process I refer to as "Touch Base Weekly." It...
7 Essential Ways I Balance Work and Family
As a leader and pastor, one of my greatest struggles to is balancing time between work and family. Everyday this is under attack as the demands of the urgent things in my life try to eclipse the important. In order to ensure that I am staying balanced, below I have listed 7 disciplines I maintain regularly. Ways I Am Maintaining...
These 6 Lessons Will Help You be a Better Pastor
To be known is to be loved. All people have a deep need to belong; when we do not have a sense of belonging, we will look for it relentlessly. We long for this in our families and with our friends. In the relationships where we are known intimately yet still accepted, we count those as safe places to...
The Power of A Ten Minute Task
You know those project in your life that seem to always be there and never really make progress? I seem to have many of these. There are things that I have either procrastinated on or that seem to mount faster than I can keep up with them. There are also are those project that are never urgent, but simply...
Loving Christ Over Ministry
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you but Christ and Him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2 Filling His Need There is almost never a day that goes by where I am not reminded to keep “Christ and Him crucified” at the center of my life. A few winters ago on a cold snowy day in Chicago, I was unexpectedly...
Focus: The Secret Weapon of Every Leader
I used to want to be skilled at everything. That was maddening. As time as passed and I've matured, I realize that being the jack-of-all-trades is not that glamorous. It is better to be masterful at a few things than proficient at everything. As a leader, it is important for me to "do only what only I can do"—Andy Stanley said...
A Tour of My Office: How You Set Up your Space Matters
I will never forget my first real office. It took me over four weeks to make it my own and move in. I thought through every little thing, including where I would dump the espresso grounds from my in-office commercial espresso machine. As I've had more offices over the last decades, I've bee more responsible and intentional with my space. If...
Leading Through Email
I will never forget the first days on a job when I realized my boss was going to manage primarily through email. It was overwhelming to say the least. Every few minutes my computer would “ding” as a new email arrived. His management style was a turn off for me. In fact, I am sure there was more than one...
What Is A Life Transformed By Christ?
One of the things I loved about working at Mission Hills is that our vision is clear and concise: Transformed Lives. But as the Discipleship Pastor, my role demanded that I accurately define what it means for a life to be transformed by Christ. Our values clarify why this type of change is important, but we had never really defined what...
How to Avoid Hating Your Job [Podcast]
From preachers to construction workers, we all have moments where we hate our job, but the single most important job as Christians is the one where we do His work. Being a follower of Christ is a spiritual commitment, one that requires discipline, loyalty, and an eagerness to please God. What does it mean to “please God” and how...
Who Has What Authority in the Church?
What is the relationship between congregational authority and the elders’ authority? When it comes to authority in the church, we must remember that the ultimate goal is to provide discipleship that leads people to greater maturity in Christ. Ephesians 4:11–13 describe the roles and gifts of leadership in the church as being for the sake of “equip the saints...
Who I am Drives What I Do (Not The Other Way Around)
When I used to be involved in Gospel magic, I remember a highly acclaimed magician getting up at one of our national conferences and explaining that what he does is not who he is. At first I didn't quite understand what he meant. You're a magician, that's who you are! Are you telling us you are resigning as a magician?! I...