As a small group leader your group relies on you to help keep them on track.  Here are: 4 Tips for Lead­ing Well 1. Lead Sys­tem­at­i­cally – With­out a plan we all tend to drift, groups func­tion best when there is a clear map and des­ti­na­tion in mind. If you have a plan in place and decide […]

Your small group com­mu­nity should be a place where truth is spo­ken, friend­ships deepen and life change occurs.  As a group mem­ber, here are: 5 Ways You Can Make Your Small Group Dis­cus­sions Great 1. Be Pre­pared - If there is advanced work or read­ing that needs to occur before your group meet­ing, make time to pre­pare. Be ready […]

Two Sat­ur­days ago, I ran jogged gut­ted my way through a ½ marathon. Here are 13 things that I learned about life along the way (mile by mile). Part 2… Mile 7 — Train­ing pays off. Do what’s nec­es­sary to be ready before the big moments in life arrive. There is a big dif­fer­ence between training […]

Two Sat­ur­days ago, I ran jogged gut­ted my way through a ½ marathon. Here are 13 things that I learned about life along the way (mile by mile). Mile 1 - Some­times life is easy and fun. Every­one around you seems excited and fully alive. Enjoy those moments, make the most of them, laugh a lot and take it […]

So you’re in a small group.  Maybe you LOVE it, maybe you think there are things that could be bet­ter.  Love it or like it, here are: 3 Ways YOU can make your small group bet­ter 1. Use your gifts — Yes, you have a gift! Accord­ing to the Scrip­ture if you are a fol­lower of Christ […]

This week I’m writ­ing about a few of my favorite things and mis­sions is another thing that is high on my list. I love hear­ing and see­ing what God is doing around the world.  I love con­nect­ing with the church in other cul­tures and liv­ing life along side of them, even if it’s only for a […]

This week I’m shar­ing about some of my favorite things and it seemed appro­pri­ate to share some of my favorite books. Since I’m a pas­tor I’ll start with the­ol­ogy. My all time favorite sys­tem­atic the­ol­ogy book is Chris­t­ian The­ol­ogy by Mil­lard Erick­son. It’s a 1300 page plunge into all things the­o­log­i­cal and I use it a […]

This week I thought I’d share a few things that I really enjoy, things that are near and dear. High on that list is cof­fee.  I love the expe­ri­ence, I love the taste and I love the great con­ver­sa­tions that I always seem to have around a really good cup. If you are a cof­fee drinker here […]

Here’s a sim­ple way to get more from your time with God.  I learned it years ago and it is a very help­ful way to approach your time in the Scrip­ture each day. S.O.A.P. the pas­sage As you read, slow down and under­line a few key verses that stand out to you. Then… S - the S stands […]

This week I spent some time with some gifted church planters and lead­ers.  As we talked, the topic of stay­ing true to the vision that God has called you to as a pastor/planter came up.  Here were a few ideas that came out of that con­ver­sa­tion: Share the vision clearly — Clearly com­mu­ni­cate the vision […]