Books

When someone stands up at church and says, “God told me …,” we imagine that to say something with such certainty means they’ve been let in on the secret of getting God to speak to them in obvious ways. But more often than not, it’s this Eucharistic voice they’re expressing.

As a pastor who has served in the season of ‘in-between,’ not knowing if one should stay or go from the current assignment, my heart goes out to you. But I want you to ask yourself, why do I serve?

Community and connection are some of the key distinctions I see in ministry to women where we are able to help foster multi-generational relationships and offer moments to connect over shared experiences.

Culture wars and ideologies like Christian nationalism look to the external world to find enemies and threats. But as Christians who define our identity inwardly, through a deepening and growing relationship with Jesus, we find health. The promise of hidden, inward transformation is gorgeous hope.

Nine times out of 10, guests will not just show up unsure of what to expect because they will have reviewed the church's website and social media pages looking for the flavor of your local church.

On this side of heaven, theological disagreement is part of life. The apostles who wrote the New Testament settled such disputes in the first century. Today, we have a clear word from God preserved in Scripture but no magisterium to settle our disagreements over how to interpret it.

Has your church become so comfortable in the familiar that it misses what guests are experiencing? Guests will break through the confines of the comfortable and see Christ, or they will see the church stuck in the familiar and never return.

Leading the local church is hard enough, but leading when you’re unsure what to do next is challenging. Finishing strong will look different for everyone. But everyone can complete the overall tasks they have been called to and meet them with God’s excellence in mind.