In April I was named editor of Christian Standard magazine. (Read announcement here.) I am honored and humbled to be the 12th editor of this 151-year-old Christian-leadership journal. The July issue, the first for which I'm responsible, has been completely...
Tag: calling
Ministry Leaders, Small Group Leaders
How Can My Group(s) Do What Jesus’ Group Did? (Is That Even Possible?)
The back cover of World's Greatest Small Group features this audacious claim: Your small group can do what Jesus' did: Change the World! I wouldn't make such a claim if I didn't believe it's possible. But I believe not only...
Ministry Leaders, Small Group Leaders
Protected: For Bloggers and Reviewers: Can Your Group(s) Really Do What Jesus’ Did—and Even Greater Things?
The back cover of World's Greatest Small Group features this audacious claim: Your small group can do what Jesus' did: Change the World! Michael C. Mack, the author of this new book, says he wouldn't make such a claim if...
Ministry Leaders, Small Group Leaders
Are Small Groups Deceiving Themselves?
What are the purposes of vision and mission statements? Are they important? Should a small group have vision and mission statements? I'll answer those questions in a moment. But first I'd like to share a series of mission-related tweets I...
Leader's Heart-Overflow, Small Group Leaders
Jesus’ Leadership Order
Jesus started his church by calling a few normal, workaday guys to follow him, and then he made a remarkable statement. He told these unschooled, unspectacular, blue-collar guys that he’d turn them into leaders who would make an eternal difference...
SG Movement/History
Lyman’s Legacy
I wrote yesterday about Lyman Coleman and his thoughts on small groups as an assimilation strategy for the church. Today, I want to share some more personal thoughts about Lyman. I first met Lyman Coleman in 1992 when I wrote...
Small Group Leaders
How Your Small Group Can (Must) Partner with God
"God's work is accomplished by a combination of human and divine effort, said one of my seminary professors, Dr. Joe Ellis. "We cannot do it without Him; He has ordained not to do it without us. We depend on each...
Small Group Leaders
Coach K and Jesus on Real Leadership
It's college hoops time again, and I may be weird, but I enjoy watching the coaches as much or more than the players. I love strategy, and as a former youth coach myself, I love to analyze (and, yes, sometimes...
Uncategorized
You Have Been Elected!
The day after the election, I'm reflecting on bigger picture values. I turned off the news programs in which so-called experts are discussing all the nitty-gritty details of why this person won and that one lost and what all that...
Ministry Leaders, Small Group Leaders
What to Do When Ministry Feels Like It’s Failing – Part 3: Redefine Success
This is the third and last planned post in this three-day series. I introduced the series in Part 1 and talked about the first reason we face failure and what to do about it in Part 2. Today, let's tackle...