Anxiety is Far Too Common in Ministry. Here is Why and What Can be Done About it
Over half of ministers report suffering from significant anxiety as a result of their ministry. Churches are anxious places. They are anxious places because we are supposed to get everything right and...
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How to Be the Kind of Person Who is Remembered for Generations
We recognize that church isn’t perfect. We talk about what needs to improve. We talk about what is unhealthy. There are changes that need to take place. I wonder if sometimes that conversation happens...
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Recommended Books on How To Better Read the Bible
I love reading books about how to read the Bible. I guess I love that because I love meta-cognition, thinking about how we think about things. There are so many treasures in the scriptures and, as...
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Leafwood Publishers – 40% off For our Readers
I am thrilled to let you know what Leafwood is offering Wineskins readers 40% off their orders. This came about because I read Don McLaughlin’s book “Love First” and wanted to get the word out about...
View Article5 Reminders to Help You Through Your Day
Negativity sells. It gets eyeballs looking at things…attention. Attention is the greatest metric in our world today for success. Advertisers are looking for it. Celebrities are looking for it. It is...
View ArticleIs Our Focus on Paul Related to a Lack of Focus on Discipleship?
Here is where the word “disciple” occurs in the New Testament (NIV) Matthew – 78Mark – 59Luke – 50John – 81Acts – 26 Here is where the word “church” occurs in the New Testament (NIV) Matthew – 2Acts –...
View ArticleWhat We Look For When We Read the Bible Influences What We Find
I was once in a discussion about women passing communion on Sunday morning. One brother’s “gotcha” verse (that only men can serve the Supper/pass trays) was Acts 6:1-4,“In those days when the number...
View ArticleThis is When the Church Grows
The church grows when God’s people become more concerned about the fate of the lost than they are concerned about the comfort of the saved. If we love our traditions more than the salvation of the...
View ArticleKeys to Christian Unity: How to Find Unity in Diversity
Christian unity is something we know God wants and yet seems elusive if not impossible. How do we find unity among so much diversity? How far from the scriptures can someone go before they are no...
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Announcing My New Podcast!
Hey everyone! Big news on the blog today. A few weeks ago I launched a new podcast that I thought you might really enjoy. Similar to this site we will be doing a lot of informing, equipping and...
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Critical Ministry Shift – From Information & Teaching to Skills & Coaching
There is a shift in my ministry philosophy I wish I had figured out years ago. It is a shift from disseminating information through teaching/lecture and the teaching of skills through coaching. This...
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The Biggest Battle of the Christian Life Is…
What is the biggest battle of the Christian life? Is it a search for meaning? The battle between conflicting possibilities? Is it a battle for relevance? That we make our mark vs being complacent and...
View ArticleWhat is the Goal of the Human Life? The Answer May Surprise You
One might think the goal of the human life is to die and go to heaven. To go and get our eternal reward! The goal of the human life is not to die and go to heaven. The goal of the human life is to be...
View ArticleOur View & Practice of Forgiveness is Symptomatic of our Underlying View of God
Forgiveness is so near God’s heart, that I am coming to believe more and more that our view and practice of forgiveness is symptomatic of our underlying view of God. If you know God intimately (that...
View ArticleWhat Is It God Really Wants?
This has become a very important question for me and I want to share a few reasons why that you may find helpful. I don’t really think I can get inside the mind of God and come up with His answer for...
View ArticleUnity & Division: Two Sides of the Same Coin
The apostle Paul gives us instruction on the true meaning of unity and what it takes to maintain it in Ephesians 4. First, he says unity is created by God and maintained by God’s people (4:3). God...
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Why A Biblically Robust Gospel is Essential To The People of God
What is the Gospel? How we answer that question says a lot. For many people the Gospel is that Jesus came to die for my sins so that when I die I can go to be with God in heaven forever. There is a...
View ArticleCoronavirus and a Gospel Bigger Than Dying and Going to Heaven
If we think the biblical gospel is getting sins forgiven to die and go to heaven we won’t think the gospel has much to do with our present coronavirus crises. If dying and going to heaven is the...
View ArticleTips for Recording Sermons for Livestream, Facebook, and YouTube
With so many preachers now preaching to empty rooms while we are all maintaining distance during the COVID-19 pandemic I would like to share a few ideas to help you get up and running to record and...
View ArticleWhat Makes Changing Your Mind So Hard?
How many times have you made a point to someone and they responded by telling you they were wrong? That you had convinced them to change their mind? Rare to never. Changing your mind takes time....
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