Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
I’ve really enjoyed reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson (see “The Circle Maker” 1.0, “The Circle Maker” 2.0, as well as Spiritual Priming and Shaping Culture). In the book, Batterson talks about idiosyncrasies. He begins by listing some of his own, and even some of Jesus’, including how “he loved to pray early in … Read more
I am not a historian or an anthropologist. But I think there’s a common tendency to begin at the margins of society and move toward the mainstream. At the cultural level, one generation rebels against the previous generation. But, eventually, the actions of the younger generation become mainstream, and the cycle continues when the next … Read more
Yesterday, I wrote 5 Ways Leaders Avoid Stagnation. It was a post about self-leadership, which can be some of the most challenging leadership of all! But that got to me thinking about how leaders, and particularly, pastors, help others from becoming stagnant. Here are 5 ways leaders help others avoid stagnation … 1. Model discipleship … Read more
Several years ago, in a class led by Dr. Russell West at Asbury, I shared my fear of becoming stagnant and losing my passion to keep growing. Because of the human tendency to settle, preventing this fear from becoming reality requires intentionality and constant awareness. Here are five ways leaders avoid stagnation … 1. Follow … Read more
Last November, I wrote a post on Building a Church Website With WordPress. In that post, I discussed the basic steps for setting up a church website using WordPress.org’s software. I also talked about using Headway Themes, a theme framework that uses an innovative “visual editor” to build and design websites with WordPress. As I … Read more
Every four years, United Methodists from around the world gather for General Conference, the UMC’s top legislative body. The next gathering will take place in Tampa, Florida, April 24-May 4, 2012. This year, General Conference will consist of 988 delegates (half clergy, half laity), as elected in each conference. The UMC has a site set … Read more
I continue to revise my preaching-related prayer guide, which I started a couple of years ago (see 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0). It has remained pretty steady for a while, but I’ve been revising it again in the last couple of weeks. My purpose isn’t really to perfect it, but to reflect whatever I’m emphasizing … Read more
I’ve written about my long-time search for a better way to manage time and tasks: Task Management, Task Management 2.0, and Time Management. My latest stop on this journey is the iPad app, 2do. As I’ve stated before, my journey started with a Franklin Day Planner when I was in college. Over the years, I’ve … Read more
Last month, I mentioned the free online preaching conference, Peach Better Sermons. I watched most of the 3.5-hour event last Thursday (The Christian Post wrote an article about the event). It was a great event. The speakers included Perry Noble, Jud Wilhite, Vanable Moody, Andy Stanley, Dr. Charles Stanley, Louie Giglio, Jeff Foxworthy, and Dan … Read more
Last week, I heard our bishop note that “the early Methodists were on fire for Jesus Christ.” I thought about that during a time of prayer a couple of days ago, and as I thought about it, I remembered something I learned way back in a physics class. In physics, I learned that heat travels … Read more