The best way to stay fresh in the pulpit is to read books on preaching and then apply what you learn. A sermon is made up of distinct parts—the greeting, introduction, background, exposition, conclusion, and closing prayer—and preaching books offer Scripture-based insight into how to prepare each one well. As you learn to craft a stronger introduction, a clearer exposition, or a more effective conclusion, your preaching doesn’t just improve—it changes. And change is the very definition of … [Read more...]
The Unenviable Job of a Leader
I recently spent time with a pastor friend, and as we caught up he began to share some of the leadership strain he’s been carrying. Several staff members were upset with him—upset enough to resign—over a leadership decision he had made. The issue was this: For the church’s vision to move from paper to reality, restructuring was necessary. And my friend, being the kind of leader churches need, didn’t avoid the hard work. He led the staff through the process carefully and intentionally. But the … [Read more...]
Core Four: Evaluate
RWMC is an acronym that helps us easily remember the four questions we have to ask ourselves each week about our Sunday services…. R stands for what went right? W stands for what went wrong? M stands for what was missing? And C stands for what was confusing? And these are the four questions you want to ask about every Sunday service. So here’s what you do: Make a note on your phone that you label RWMC. Under that make four headings: 1) right, 2) wrong, 3) missing, 4) confusing. Then, on … [Read more...]
A Thanksgiving Devotional
I’m reading Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick and wrote the following devotional based off what I’ve learned in the book. Enjoy! The first Thanksgiving took place in 1621. The Pilgrims didn’t call it “Thanksgiving” at the time, but because the purpose of their feast was to thank God for His blessings, it was later given that name. What makes this so striking is the context. Of the roughly 100 people who arrived on the Mayflower, half died within the first year. They faced disease, … [Read more...]
How to Respond Appropriately to Criticism
Rick Warren once said “you preach to a parade.” This means that at all times you have people coming in (joining the church) and going out (leaving the church). And when people leave, there are times where it’s because their personal preferences aren’t being met. If you haven’t already experienced your own version of this—all it means is you’re new to staff :) And here’s the first thing I want you to note about Jesus’ ministry… Ok, here’s the second thing I … [Read more...]
Vince Lombardi: A Successful Failure
I recently read When Pride Still Mattered by David Maraniss, which is considered to be the definitive biography of legendary football coach Vince Lombardi. If case you've never heard of him, Lombardi was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1959-1967. When he took over the team was struggling, having suffered multiple losing seasons. But under his leadership, the Packers became a dominant force in the NFL, winning championships in 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, and 1967. Then, later on in … [Read more...]
Core Four: Duplicate
In 2023 we placed a major emphasis on our Core Four – the four core behaviors we want to see in all New Day staff - and this year we want to keep the momentum going by covering one of our core four each quarter. And today we’re covering “duplicate." To duplicate something is to make a copy of it. And this is exactly what we want each staff member to do: Make copies of yourself. You have certain competencies, a certain character and you live by a certain culture. And we want you to take who … [Read more...]
The Proper Focus of a Sunday Evaluation
Each Monday we evaluate the Sunday services, asking ourselves four simple questions: 1) What went right? 2) What went wrong? 3) What was missing? 4) What was confusing? This is a wonderful exercise for us to go through each week, because it helps us to get better. And as we know, when we get better, we get bigger (i.e., God blesses us with increased gospel influence in our region - which is just what we want). But there's a very important aspect of this evaluation time that we don't … [Read more...]
Why Doing So Good Feels So Bad
Last week our Directional Leadership Team went away for our third off-site of the year and I was surprised to learn how well we're doing. I guess I was surprised because I haven't been feeling (that's the key word here, feeling) like things were going well. So I basically asked the guys "Why does doing so good feel so bad?" And as we discussed the answer to that question, here's what we realized. So this is why doing so well feels so bad. And I bring this up so that we can all make a … [Read more...]
Does God Punish Children For The Sins of Their Parents?
Someone asked me recently: Does God punish children for the sins of their parents? In this post I’ll attempt to answer this question. This idea (that God punishes children for the sins of their parents) comes from the Mosaic Law (the law God gave to the Israelites through Moses): Admittedly, these verses, on their own, are a little confusing. So we need to turn to other Scriptures that speak to the question at hand to provide further clarity. For … [Read more...]
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