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 diversity of giftedness, backgrounds, and…

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How is it that such a seemingly innocuous term generates so much misunderstanding and concern? In conversations with ministry leaders and pastors, who boldly proclaim Christ, there has been confusion about discussing spiritual formation – using words like “fuzzy” or “squishy” or simply choosing to not address it at all. The disinclination to identify with…

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The Underappreciated Effect of Hope Our family was recently spending time with some good friends at their farm. The farmer was almost done milking cows and needed help distracting his kids. He suggested I take all of the kids (7 boys including mine) and drive them out to the tree house on the golf cart.…

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What is the mission of God? And how should that impact our vision of missions in the local church? Sometimes we talk about missions as a program or like it’s the PR department of the church. But what if the foundation of missions is the mission of God Himself? What if the first ‘missionary’ was…

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Search teams are the most common method that churches use to find and hire new pastoral staff. Virtually all members of search teams are well intentioned and willing to sacrifice many hours for the privilege of playing a strategic role in finding the best person to be their next beloved pastor. Yet, despite their strong…

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Licenses and credentials are nothing new to us. If you drive a car, there is a process of written and practical evaluation to become a licensed driver, and systems of accountability for misusing the privilege of operating several tons of metal and plastic at high speed. Various professions require licensing, whether medicine, law, or real…

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