5 Signs You’re a Leader who Talks too Much
Nobody likes to talk to others who monopolize conversations and drone on about themselves. Healthy conversations should be two-way streets but science tells us that we tend to spend 60% of our...
View Article5 Questions Pastors Neglect in Sermon Prep
A while back I read the book Impossible to Ignore: Creating Memorable Content to Influence Decisions by Dr. Carmen Simon. It is probably THE best book on communication I’ve ever read. Every pastor and...
View Article4 Questions to Ask when you Face Conflict
Everybody faces conflict. It’s nothing new. From the cosmic conflict between Lucifer and God before creation to the conflicts in the early church to the conflicts Jesus often faced with the Jewish...
View Article9 Insights about Adult Learning every Pastor should Know
Several years ago I took a 13-week intensive class on how to coach through the Professional Christian Coaching Institute. One of my teachers, Anne Denmark, professionally coaches church leaders and...
View Article7 Keys to Help Church People Remember your Sermon Better
As a pastor I’ve been trained how to create a sermon so that it’s theologically sound (good hermeneutics) and applicable to the listener (good homiletics). However, seminary never taught me how I might...
View ArticleWhat NOT to Say to Someone in Pain
Several years ago at a physical therapy appointment I was getting some kinks worked out of my back. As the therapist torqued my left leg into a pretzel, she told me about a friend who recently got news...
View ArticleHow to Increase the Spiritual Return on a Sermon
Every Sunday something happens over 400,000 times in North America: A pastor preaches a sermon. Have you ever wondered, though, how much impact sermons really make? Consider these shocking statistics....
View ArticleCritics: Stay Away or Draw Close to Them?
Criticism hurts, especially the non-constructive kind. We tend to stay away from such critics. But is that the wisest choice? Should we draw close to them instead of pulling away from them? In this...
View ArticleWhat do Toilet Repairs and Leadership Composure have in Common?
I learned a lesson about leadership composure from an unlikely source. Several years ago I had scheduled a plumber to fix minor leaks in some toilets in our home as we prepared to sell our house. My...
View ArticleAre your Sermons Falling Flat? Is this Why?
Every week in North America, pastors preach upwards of 400,000 sermons. That excludes Bible studies taught by hundreds of thousands of Sunday school teachers and small group leaders. I’ve delivered in...
View ArticleHow the Brain Stifles Church Change
If you want your church to thrive you can’t avoid church change. Yet it is seldom easy, even though we leaders see the benefits of change before others see them. One hidden reason that makes it so...
View ArticleCoffee Stains on the Auditorium Carpet: A Key to a Successful Sermon?
NO FOOD OR DRINK ALLOWED IN THE AUDITORIUM! I’ve seen such messages emblazoned in the lobbies of many churches where I’ve attended or where I’ve served. In one church we allowed food and coffee in the...
View ArticleCotton Candy Sermons: Every Pastor Needs Them
The phrase “cotton candy preaching” is a derogatory term that implies that sermons lack depth. And of course no pastor wants to be considered a “cotton candy preacher.” On the other hand I’ve heard...
View ArticleWhen Leaders Get Hooked on Being Right
You’ve been wrestling with a ministry challenge and you believe you’ve found the right answer. At the next board meeting you share your idea and one board member begins to voice opposition. Because you...
View Article5 Brain-friendly Tips to Enhance Your Presentations
It’s all about the brain. When you preach a sermon or make presentations and want to maximize your impact with your presentation, keep the brain in mind. More than anyone else, cognitive psychologist...
View Article5 Ways to Get People to pay Attention to Your Sermons
One of the most disconcerting feelings we pastors experience is when we prepare a sermon and pour our heart into it, yet feel that it didn’t make a difference in people’s lives. It’s equally...
View ArticleTop 10 Healthy Ways to Handle the Church Critic
One well-worn adage goes, “The two things you can’t avoid in life are death and taxes.” I’d suggest one more adage for those in ministry. “Two things you can’t avoid in ministry are…people late to the...
View Article5 Reasons Why Every Church Needs a Staff-Board Conflict Resolution Strategy
The board meetings have begun to sour. Increasingly the pastor and his board have heated conversations about the church’s direction. The conflict has bled into every meeting for months. Emotions are...
View ArticleHow to Make Boring Church Announcements Memorable
I grew up in the church and by my calculation I’ve heard 10,931 church announcements, or thereabouts. I only remember one of them. Why did I only remember that one? Before I give you the answer, I must...
View ArticleData Overload: Is Your Church Guilty of Infobesity?
In today’s world we’re bombarded with information overload. One author coined this problem infobesity (Pearrow, 2012) to describe this data overload. When we get too much data our thinking brain shuts...
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