In Acts 1:8 Jesus said “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” From this verse we learn that one of the roles of the preacher is to witness for Jesus (this isn't limited to preachers, but includes preachers). In this post we'll explore what it means to be Christ's witness in preaching. Whereas as the preacher as steward is a domestic illustration, and whereas the … [Read more...]
Know Your Numbers
I once read a book called The Walmart Way by Don Soderquist. In this book I learned how Sam Walton lived by this saying: Know your numbers! He would carefully track any key metrics that might help him improve his business. Well Proverbs 27:23 basically says the same thing: Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds." Someone once taught me "You cannot manage what you do not measure." I think that's some good advice and I live by it. In 2012 we water … [Read more...]
How Google Can Help You Preach
When preparing for an upcoming sermon (or sermon series) I tap into the power of Google. For example, this past Sunday I preached a sermon called The Secrets of Attraction (in a series we're doing on the book of Song of Solomon). By creating a news alert for "attraction" Google was emailing me articles on that subject for weeks leading up to last Sunday. One of the articles gave me some great intro material to work with. Referencing the article I said "Here's the world's wisdom on what you ought … [Read more...]
Preparing Your Annual Report Part 2
Once you understand the purpose of your board (see Preparing Your Annual Report Part 1) you're now ready to begin creating a report. Since the first purpose of the board is to guard the mission I like to begin a board meeting by reporting on the mission (after I open in prayer and give an overview of the meeting). Jesus told us to make disciples, baptize them and then teach them (Matthew 28:19-20). So we're to make, mark and mature disciples. Making disciples is all about helping people get … [Read more...]
Preparing Your Annual Report Part 1
One task of the lead pastor is to prepare an annual report for the board of directors. In this post I hope to help you prepare for that task. A good annual report begins with a rock solid understanding of the purpose of your board. A board exists to guard three things: The mission The money The message The board is there to make sure the lead pastor is leading the church in fulfilling Jesus' Great Commission (for that's the mission of every church). The board is there to make sure … [Read more...]
The Pareto Principle Applied to Volunteers
I first learned of the Pareto Principle my freshman year in Bible college from a John Maxwell book when I wrote a paper on leadership for one of my classes. The Pareto Principle basically teaches that 20% of the people do 80% of the work, and that it then takes the other 80% of the people to do the other 20% of the work. There are many ways you can apply the Pareto Principle, but in this post we'll apply it to spending time with volunteers in your church. As leaders we all have a limited … [Read more...]
Sample End-of-Year Giving Letter
In January you ought to be sending out giving statements to each person who financially contributed to the work of the Lord through your church over the past year. In this post I want to share the kind of letter I write and enclose along with the actual giving statement. My hope is that you'll be able to use this as a guide to help you in writing your own end-of-year giving letter. Dear New Day Church Family Member, Enclosed you will find your 2014 End-of-Year Giving Statement. Because we … [Read more...]
Share the Preaching Calendar
You should not be the only one preaching at your church. Here are some of the drawbacks: It's bad for you. You will wear yourself out by preaching every week. It's bad for the people. If you're the only speaker your people will be robbed of hearing from multiple perspectives. It doesn't allow for contingencies. If you're the only one speaking you'll never be able to miss for vacation or being sick. And here's some of the benefits of sharing the preaching calendar: The quality of … [Read more...]
You Get What You Preach
One of my mentors once taught me "You get what you preach" and it's true. A couple years ago I taught on tithing. We saw a $19,000 a month increase after that message. Today Andrew is preaching on water baptism. Guess what people are doing after each service? Signing up to be baptized! When I teach on evangelism leading up to Easter guess what our people do? They invite their friends! I could go on but I think you get the point. You get what you preach. If I'm not seeing people … [Read more...]
Setting Goals
The value Some people are really down on setting goals. To some people goals are simply things they will later feel bad about next year for not achieving. But I believe setting goals is a wonderful thing to do. While I love it when I 100% hit a goal, I don't set goals or like goals because they help me do everything I want to do 100%. I like setting goals because by setting a goal, I do better than I would have without setting a goal. For example: By aiming for a weekly date night I might … [Read more...]
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