Staying Power
Vocations today, ministry included, are complex and stress-filled. Many leave because of burnout or financial pressure. Others stay, but...
Pastor Plus
While the call to be a pastor is consistent, not much else about pastors is the same. They come from all backgrounds, in a rainbow of...
Deep Redemption
In ministry (as in life) bad things happen. We may encounter disruptions, accusations, scuttlebutt, sabotage, betrayal, and even...
Clean up Your Mess
As our daughters were growing up, we had a standing rule before mealtimes: clean up your mess. We expected our daughters to take...
Jesus, on Prayer
Have you ever wondered what prompted Jesus’ already devout disciples to ask, “Lord, teach us to pray?” The disciples observed that Jesus...
Word Bites
Ron Bowell grew up on a wheat farm. As a young adult, he played in rock bands at local clubs—and developed an alcohol addition. Then...
A Gift of Hope
The Hebrew word for hope literally means a “rope.” As this picture word depicts, with hope we hold tightly to our faith in God. With...
Sabbatical Strategy
Have you ever shut down a PC and rebooted the system to resolve a program glitch? One pastor dared to apply this strategy to a church. In...
Leadership and Partnership
Sadly, the tendency of any group of humans, whatever the size, is to become entangled in unproductive behaviors. There is no more...
Strength and Heart and Wits
In J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic narrative, Lord of the Rings, the realms of Middle-earth are threatened by the Dark Lord Sauron. One Ring,...
David and Goliath
With a captivating profusion of powerful stories, Malcolm Gladwell in David and Goliath confronts the biggest bugaboo of small church...
Called by Name
You may wonder who I am. My name is Warren Hoffman. I grew up in the Church and accepted Christ at age 10. At 25, my heart caught fire....
Why Not?
In 1943 Lockheed Martin, an aerospace company, selected its most creative engineers—and told them to think “outside the box.”...
Bucking the Trends
Despite the trends, regardless of appearances, smaller churches continue to rescue and restore broken people in the rural, small town,...
Apostle of Encouragement
In the biblical account of the early Church, I am drawn to Barnabas. Barnabas was known for his encouragement, generosity, faith, and...
