February was a big month on Helping Churches Make Vision Real! Thank you for making these the top 5 Posts from this last month. If you missed out on any of them, here they are all in one nice tidy little spot!
#1 Why Nice People Kill Churches
This post may quickly become one of the most popular articles I’ve ever written. For the last 12 years I’ve had the incredible opportunity to serve on the Sr. Leadership Teams of some of the nations fastest growing and leading churches. Over that time I’ve observed time and time again one of the most destructive inclinations to church growth and the advancement of the Gospel is the simple fact that people on staff at most churches are simply too nice to each other. In this post I share 5 ways I’ve seen nice people hurt this mission of the church. Continue Reading…
#2 A Large Multisite Church in Phoenix is Hiring a High School Pastor
I’m pleased to announce a new Staff Search. Sun Valley Community Church, the church I have the honor of serving at, is beginning a national search for a High School Pastor to serve on our Gilbert Campus. Sun Valley began as a church plant in 1990 in Chandler, Arizona. Over the years Sun Valley has grown into a large mult-site church in the Phoenix metro area. Currently there are three campuses located in Gilbert, Tempe and Casa Grande with a total weekend attendance of over 5,000 people. Sun Valley was recently named by Outreach Magazine as one of the top 10 fastest growing churches in America. Continue Reading…
#3 Does Your Team Need to Change?
Churches get stuck for all kinds of reasons. But a common reason Churches get stuck is that the Sr. Leadership Team gets stuck. Last week I had the opportunity to sit in the room with Sr. Leaders from some of the nations leading mega-churches and talk through this issue. Here are a couple of the thoughts I captured about Sr. Leadership Teams from that conversation. Continue Reading…
#4 Stop Paying People to do Ministry
As they grow, many churches eagerly anticipate the moment when they’re finally big enough that they can afford to hire more staff and offer more ministry options for people. For example I’ve heard churches say they can’t wait to hire a Men’s Ministry Pastor. Nothing against Men’s Ministry per se, but that’s an expensive model. If you run it out to its logical end you’re going to have a lot of people on your payroll. Paying people to “do” ministry instead of “lead” ministry is an expensive mistake that many churches fall into. Here are 3 principles that will help you focus the Staffing & Volunteer philosophy at your church. Continue Reading…
#5 Overcoming the Fear of a Personality Driven Ministry
In church-world I frequently hear conversations surrounding the idea of “personality driven churches.” That is to say churches that are built around a dynamic communicator and leader. At best I’ll usually hear a criticism of its ineffectiveness and at worst statements about how shallow, wrong, and harmful it is to the church and the advancement of the Gospel. In this post I unpack 4 big questions you should be asking about personality driven ministries. Continue Reading…
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