Simplifying Church Organizational Structures

  There are few experiences in life more satisfying, fulfilling, and joyous than serving the Lord on a church leadership team where: Each member respects and trusts every other member. There is no confusion over responsibilities and roles, and each person works diligently to uphold their part. There is a…

Discipleship Pathways for Kids

When it comes to discipling children, there is no limit to the thoughts, patterns, and opinions you can find online. You can probably ask around your immediate community and get another few dozen different answers. So how do we disciple today’s children in our churches, and how do we know…

I’ll Rest When I’m Dead

This past August, my family and I spent 7 days in New Hampshire. We were blessed to attend Week 7 of Camp Spofford’s Family Camp. It was an awesome week of rest, fellowship, family time, faith development, and fun. Our days were filled with canoeing, kayaking, hiking, tubing, fishing, and…

Love the Ones You’re With

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Galatians 5:13 We see a great deal of service to one another in the realm of God’s people. Missions trips abound. Benevolent funds overflow. Community…

How To Function With Few On The Floor

“My team is on the floor.” This is Gene Hackman’s line from an absolutely crucial scene in the movie Hoosiers. Do you know it? What a movie! It is based on the true story of a tiny town in Indiana going all the way to the state championship where they…well,…

From Grinch to Griswold

Something happened to me a few years ago… I’d never been one to do a whole lot of Christmas decorating. Maybe it was laziness, maybe it was PTSD from a childhood full of mountain vacations with hour after hour of my mom dragging the entire family into every kitschy Christmas…

I Thought You Ought To Know

As you can tell from my picture below, and from my last name, I am Asian – Korean to be precise. I was born in South Korea and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of one. I grew up in Southern California and came to Virginia 18 years ago…

They’re Just Not That Into You: 5 Ways To Avoid The Pitfalls of Celebrity Status in Ministry

We don’t need to drop any big names, but we can all think of someone in ministry who rose to celebrity status only to cave under pressure or temptation. They were doing great work for the Kingdom of God and then they weren’t. Sure, for argument’s sake, it may not…

You Don’t Need a Mentor: You Need a Bullpen!

Sir Isaac Newton once said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Now there is no denying the importance of this mathematician and natural philosopher to our modern world (I mean, he invented gravity for Pete’s sake…wait, that can’t be right). Anyway, did…

70 Per Week

“…the pace of child-abuse allegations against American churches has averaged 70 a week (Christian Ministry Resources).” That was the shocking statistic that our Kids Ministry Director shared with me as we reviewed our Children’s Safety Policy. It was disheartening and sobering, pointing to the responsibility that each of us bear…

The Kingdom Without The King

Do you remember the posters that were all the rage a few years back? Groups of people would be huddled outside a store in a shopping mall staring at a 2 x 3 poster of a random series of like-colored dots. You would cross your eyes, purposefully lose focus, change angles for…

On Being A Good Steward Of Pain

You’ve been there, right? In the left lane behind the person who has forgotten what the left lane is for. So, you get a little closer hoping to get their attention. And, if that doesn’t work, surely the three cars that just passed them on their right will. Finally, with…