Many churches make a critical mistake in ministry when they confuse activity for effectiveness.In this line of thinking, the busier a church is, the more it is doing for God. So the goal becomes to fill up the calendar and clutter up the bulletin with as many events,...

Here's a great leadership question:"Is what got us here going to take us where we are going?"I've got to ask myself that all the time.Is the ministry style that brought Good Shepherd to 1500 people per Sunday what it will take to move us to 2000 per Sunday and...

There's a new restaurant in our area with the rather clever name of Passion8 Bistro.Passionate.And I was asked recently, "what are you passionate about in ministry?" Behind that question was the wise observation that the church will tend to follow the lead of its...

I may be learning something in leadership.It's better to be wrong than indecisive.That's a tough idea to swallow, isn't it? But as I chew on it (hopefully, to swallow it), I believe it be more and more accurate.If I make a wrong decision, the people I lead on the...

Whenever I have taken those spiritual gift inventories, I score high on the gifts of teaching and healing.And low on the gift of hospitality. As in it is the opposite of a spiritual gift for me. It is a spiritual burden.So Monday, I led a meeting with five of our...

So what is it?Is it an image of two people touching their palms as a sign of cooperation?Is it a world map from the 1400s, when people really didn't know how the continents fit together?Is it a frowning face?An owl's face?It all goes to show the importance of training...

A lot of people in leadership mistake activity for progress.I know this because I've done this.Back in the day, for example, I wanted the church bulletin to be as full as possible. I wanted it to be loaded with information and to feature a calendar that was stocked...

As a staff, we've begun reading Sal Paolantonio's book How Football Explains America. It's a fascinating read, one that explores how football is so much more than just one game among many within the American psyche.Football instead is an expression of our 19th Century...

There is a masterful line in U2's "Moment Of Surrender" off the new CD No Line On The Horizon:At the moment of surrender,of vision over visibility . . . So vision is different than visibility. Vision sees what fog obscures. Vision turns the "not yet" into the "will...

I spent most of Monday at a seminar with other pastors from the Charlotte District of the United Methodist Church. Gil Rendle, a consultant with The Alban Institute, led our time together, and issued a number of provocative observations about leadership in the local...