Next week, our church office is beginning to slowly open back up. As I post this, we’ve been living through the 2020 global pandemic that seemed to shut the world down. If you’re serving in a church ministry, you either fall into the camp of feeling like you’ve had a bit of a break these … Read more
Sometimes, a church will get the idea that God’s vision for their ministry is to maintain what they have before pursuing growth and health. The fact is that “survival” is a terrible goal. Hoping to keep the status quo is not motivating, nor is it God-honoring. You will not put your church in a position … Read more
Most church folks know of King David’s big sins. We hear messages and references in messages all the time. But, after all was said and done, he was still God’s favored, a man after God’s own heart. Solomon was David’s son who took the throne. And though we hear much about Solomon – his wisdom … Read more
Currently, we have four morning worship services on Sundays. Two of these services are held in the Family Life Center and two are held in the Sanctuary. The two services in the Family Life Center are led by the worship band and until we began the second of the two in that space, the sound … Read more
The St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup for the first time in their franchise’s history last night on my birthday, June 12. They didn’t have to do that, but thanks! People around St. Louis are really happy – ecstatic really – some oddly so. Those who know me well know I’m not much of … Read more
There is tremendous power in the church. This is especially realized when every member understands the privilege of using their unique gifts and experiences to move the church forward in mission. Church leaders must become great at caring for volunteers in ministry. In the book Volunteer Revolution, these questions were listed as a way for … Read more
The healthiest leaders know that focusing on doing what they do best will generate the most productive outcome. And as each person succeeds at doing their part well, the department grows. In a larger church staff, the roles are often more delineated. Many times, because there are more staff in place, the jobs are broken … Read more
I had the opportunity to worship at the Chicago Temple, First UMC in downtown Chicago. There is a ton of great history with this church, which still boast the highest steeple above street level in the world and the highest point of worship above street level in the world (Chapel in the Sky, Guinness Book … Read more
Had a great Faith @ Home event at our church yesterday. During the course of each year, the Family Ministry Team sets up one time events for parents with children in specific age categories. The parents and kids then meet during the worship hour to learn together. It’s designed to help parents make the home the primary spiritual influence in the lives … Read more
The beauty of the church is that it literally everywhere. There are roughly 50 million people in the United states who called themselves believers and attend worship on a regular basis. In fact, in the United Methodist world, there are way more UMC’s than there are McDonald’s in the country – almost three to one. And that’s … Read more