Why Do People Leave The Church?

Knowing some answers to this question can not only keep a church from losing some great people, but will also bring a church into revival as the back door is closed to a large degree.

It’s kind of like money.  It’s not how much you make, it’s how much you save.  Some count their new converts by the hundreds, but few of these converts are still in the church a year later. 

People leave the church because of boring sermons.  

Some people can tell when a preacher is shooting from the hip or preaching to the choir.  “Study to show yourself approved.”   You are not going to keep some people unless your messages are getting into their heart and mind.   They have come to hear a Word from God.  Get one from the Lord for yourself and then give it to the congregation....

How Many Will Follow?

Here is a question every leader of people asks himself/herself at one time or another.

When Jesus looked out over the masses who followed him, I wonder if He asked himself this same question. As He counted, in His mind, the healings and considered all who he helped, I wonder if he pondered how many would come after him....

How Much is Your Belt Worth?

It's interesting that the first piece of armor that Paul tells us to put on is the belt of Truth!  So I ask you again, how much is your belt worth?  How much does Truth mean to you? We should never take this belt off for any reason.  Everywhere we go and everything we say and do, we should always have this belt tight around our spiritual waist.  We cannot afford to wear the belt of Truth only on Sundays and on our mid-week service nights.  It's not enough to just wear it when everyone is watching.  We aren't to pick and choose which pieces of the armor that we want to wear.  Paul tells us to put on the WHOLE armor of God.....

How To Stay Focused

In a world of constant distractions, learning to achieve and sustain a laser-like focus on your priorities gives you an enormous competitive advantage in the marketplace – as well as enormous benefits to your personal life. If keeping your focus has never been harder, the payoffs have never been better. How do you achieve laser-like concentration? I’m going to share with you seven principles of achieving and sustaining an intense, productive and energizing focus.

1. Keep the Big Picture in Mind. To successfully sustain you focus, you must first have a big-picture view of your goals and priorities, and a clear vision of what you hope to accomplish. After all, achieving an intense and sustained focus is not an end in itself, but a powerful means of achieving your long-term goals. The clearer, and more specific and more vividly you visualize the big picture of what you hope to accomplish, the more successfully you can focus on the means of achieving it.....

The Work Of The Connector

In his book, The Turning Point, Malcolm Gladwell describes the work of the connector.  The connectors he explains are important to social epidemics.  The reason why a new restaurant would become the new hotspot in the community might well depend a great deal on the work of the connector.  You see, a connector is the person in the market place who tells all their friends about the great deal they just got at Wall Mart.  Or the fantastic food they ate at a new restaurant.  Every church has connectors in them.

I have identified my wife as being a connector.  Should Natalie find a bargain at say Wal-Mart, she will immediately call her mother and sister on the phone and them about the great deal and why they should head over to Wal-Mart as soon as they get off work.   My wife is a connector.  She loves telling people about everything from the newest restaurant, to the store who has a sale on paper napkins.

My life was changed by a connector.  I was 17 years old when I came into contact with this person.  95% of the relationships I have today are a direct result of this one connector in my life.  Mike was his name.  Had this person never told me about and invited me to his church, I never would have met most of the people who I now know as my close friends and colleagues.  He was not a preacher.  He was a connector...

Identity Crisis Times Two

We live in a world today of 'identity crisis times two'. Everybody wants to be like somebody else. Look like somebody else. Talk like somebody else. Live like somebody else. It is no different in the church. It is part of man's nature. We want to preach like somebody else. Sing like somebody else. Build a church like somebody else. Inherently, we look to others successes and desire the same for ourselves....

Is Your Plan For Church Growth Working?

Digging Your Way Out of The Paper Pile-Up

God created the world in six days – but then He didn’t have any paperwork, right? With computers now as common as feedback from your microphone on Sunday morning, the paper pile up is higher than ever. The question is : Are you at the bottom of the pile trying to dig out, or are you on top and in charge? Or, have you been out of control so long that you’ve developed the “throw it all away every three months” strategy? Why even bother? Can organization really improve your ministry effectiveness? Here are three important reasons to unpile the pile:

1. To Sharpen Your Focus. Our minds are consumed by what our eyes can see. When faced with a pile, part of your brain can’t stop feeling overwhelmed.

2. To Use Time More Wisely – One of the top time bandits is clutter, because you waste time searching for everything you need.

3. To Increase Creativity – Besides narrowing your focus, organizing the paper pile will give you time to be more creative.

Six Tips On How To Unpile The Pile.

1. Get Rid Of the Clutter – Get rid of the junk today. If your personality requires clutter for peace of mind, then clutter a shelf or two on your bookcase or credenza.

2. Use A Simple System – One big time-waster is handling a piece of paper multiple times. Have you ever done this with a letter? You open it and read it. Then you set it aside for a while. Then you have to read it again later before responding! To avoid this, you need a system designed to do something with each item, therefore handling it only once. I like this “4-D” system.

If You Chase Two Rabbits

Most Pastors and ministers of the Gospel have families and ministries as well as secular jobs or businesses.  This creates a constant pulling in different directions that leaves us feeling tired, confused and even guilty that we are unable to accomplish all that we want to do in any of these areas.  We endlessly wrestle with our time constraints as well as our energy levels for each of these....