Organizational culture powerfully determines the success or failure of a vision, the flourishing or demise of the human spirit. [1] As part of a coaching process with a pastor of a large church in the southern United States, I asked Charlie to keep track of how she spent all of her waking hours. I encouraged her to write down how she spent every 30 …
The life of Jesus is at the center of our faith, yet often we seem to skip straight from his birth to his death when teaching discipleship. The result is that his amazing life story of healing, liberation and generosity has little impact on how we plan our lives and guide our congregations. So what can we learn from the …
One of the key characteristics most church planting assessors look for in potential church planters is teachability. Over the last three-and-a-half decades of starting churches and supporting church planters, three aspects of this trait stand out to me the most: knowing one’s self, practicing humility, and seeking wisdom. Knowing One’s Self A few years ago, I coauthored a book based …
I remember the first time I ever went on a “missions” trip (I love how there is an “s” added to that word for some unknown reason). As a person who did not grow up involved in or even remotely aware of churches, youth groups, mission trips, or any of the other cultural expressions of evangelical churches, the whole thing …
How do we help parishioners use seasons of waiting to strengthen their faith? Summer is filled with transitions. It is a time to wait—holy waiting. It is a time between now and not yet, a time when we are very aware of what is behind us but not sure of what lies ahead. We wait for new jobs, a new …
The spiritual practice of retreat is one of the most powerful tools we can implement to increase our faith and draw us closer to God, to each other and to our responsibility for God’s world. The Bible is full of examples of people who periodically removed themselves from the world to draw closer to God in spiritual retreat. In fact, Jesus …
It’s tempting to want to take control, especially as church planters and leaders with passion, vision and commitment. Right? We want to get things moving and push our agendas forward according to our systems and to tradition. But I recently re-watched the film, Whale Rider and was reminded of the power, beauty and effectiveness of a contrarian way. Koro, the …
Pentecost is coming. This celebration (May 15th) marks the end of the Easter season, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the infilling of Jesus’ disciples with the power to go out and change the world. Traditionally, many churches pray for the peace of our world at this time. In a world divided by culture, race, and social strata, Pentecost …
Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you. -Romans 15:7 Building community is hard work. It takes intentionality and risk; requires energy and planning. And there is always the possibility of rejection as we put ourselves out there. However, making room for others in our lives is an essential practice for those in the community of faith. A Difference Between …
What if God is inviting us to let go of some of our defaults in order to join the Spirit in our neighborhoods? As those on the Neighbourhood Life (NL) journey in Edmonton attempting to do just that, we are discovering, among other things, a number of shifts in our thinking and doing that illustrates for us the new ways God …