There are few things in life one can guarantee. Nevertheless, here’s one for which I’m very close to issuing written guarantees. When your aspiration is to shrink your church, there’s one strategy that stands head and shoulders above all others….
Finding charity amidst the chaos one year into the coronavirus pandemic
One year ago in The Christian Citizen, we published the first in a series of articles on ministry responses to the coronavirus pandemic. “Charity amidst the chaos—When coronavirus comes to your neighborhood,” is Bryan Jackson’s firsthand account of the arrival…
What Patrick Mahomes taught us
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has taught us much about athletic prowess in his relatively short football career. At the high school in small-town Whitehouse, Texas, he was a local football hero. In his senior year, he passed for 4,619…
‘He being dead, yet speaketh’
Another new year has come, and I have a new year’s resolution — actually a rerun of 2020 that never clicked. Clean out a stack, or two, of “When I get a moment, I want to read this” newspapers, journals…
Women and the call to lead
For the first time, a woman has been elected vice president of the United States. It only took 231 years. Kamala Harris carries the hopes and ambitions of many generations of women of all colors who aspire to lead in…
The blight of insecure leaders in the wake of our national crises
Confronted by the plagues of coronavirus and racism, our country needs clarity and focus from its leaders, something insecure leaders are incapable of offering.
10 pandemic takeaways, personal and pastoral
I sense our country is at a rare moment, quietly listening. The gospel message is going deeper than usual. The crucified, risen Messiah is relevant.
Now what? Some thoughts about what’s next for the scattered and gathered church
Like retailers, universities and hospitals, churches will be having conversations around this question: Are buildings a necessity for delivering our services and ministries? In our new normal, physical location may be only one of many expressions of church.
Wisdom from Lincoln: Even with a compass, we still may have to traverse chasms and swamps
Lincoln seemed to be at peace disappointing his supporters and infuriating his enemies. He not only had a compass; he also had a plan for specific steps on the journey.