Silence
In the poetic cadences of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, the Teacher declares there is a time for silence. Most of us are practiced in speaking, but...
Intangibles
Most churches in America are small. Yet big churches attract the most people and money. What assets, then, does a small church pastor...
Accessibility
Most churches strive to be accessible to people with the widest possible range of physical abilities. Normally, this involves ramp...
High Privilege
My daily devotional journey began with the Moravian Daily Texts. Probably the most widely-read devotional guide in the world, there are...
Witness in the Workplace
How can we share the good news about Jesus in our workplace? First of all, we listen. We are attentive to words. We pay attention to...
New Ventures
A year or two into a new venture, outcomes can be disappointing. At that point, it is good to review questions that shaped the venture:...
Changing Metrics
It is a rare church where the entire church family is present every Sunday. Even so, most people attend one or more times a month. For...
Discouragement
Everyone struggles at times with discouragement. David was distressed in defeat (1 Sam 30:6). Elijah was despondent after victory (I Kgs....
Done
In her book Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg has popularized the Facebook motto: “Done is better than perfect.” At times this maxim can be a...
Disillusionment
Linus, the blanket-toting theologian of the Peanuts comic strip, once insisted, “I love mankind. . . it’s people I can’t stand.” Linus...
Hard Conversations
It is hard to confess wrongdoing. It is even harder to confront someone else’s bad behavior. Yet when we are responsible for others, or...
Repairs
In our throwaway society, it is often easier (and less expensive) to replace an item than to repair it. Sometimes, we approach stressed...
Fit to Size
In formatting documents, text and images can be resized to fit available space. Similarly, daunting tasks can be “fit to size” for...
God's Triathletes
Jesus was a carpenter. Peter was a fisherman. Paul made tents. Many pastors today, in churches new and old, also work in a trade or...
Wintertime
Despite record snowfalls and cold this year in the eastern U.S., I want to extol the value of winter—in particular, of a dormant season...
