(Part 1 of 2) “Just trust me!” never cuts it. Max DePree said, “Trust cannot be bought or commanded, inherited, or enforced. To maintain it, leaders must continually earn it.” Now, I know that the Bible says that, ultimately, we put our trust in God, not others. People can always let us down. Psalm 118:8…
Category: Ministry
Ascent Pathways – A New Ministry
Many of you know that I’m now “retired.” Someone asked me what does that mean? I joked that it means that I was now officially “a nobody.” Seriously, during this new season, I want to be doing the things that matter. One priority is to help others succeed in their life and ministry. That’s why…
Five Vision Killers
We need vision. A vision sees what could be. It energizes us to work together towards a better future. The Bible warns, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18 KJV). As pastors and leaders, we are tasked to cast God’s vision for the future. Unfortunately, wrong attitudes and unhealthy cultures can get…
5 Mistakes More Likely to be Made by Small Churches Than Big Churches
Karl Vater is a champion of the small church. What I like about his approach is that he sees the value of our smaller churches, while at the same time, he holds us to a high standard. In other words, we may be small, but that doesn’t give us an excuse not to be all…
The Church Hopper vs. the Unchurched
Many of us have seen a decrease in Sunday Morning Worship attendance coming out of COVID. Some churchgoers have used these past few years to “digitally church shop” for something new and “better.” It is always tough to see people leave a church for another one. We are called to be “fishers of men” and…
A Revealing Question
How was Easter? When I pastored, Easter was always a highlight of the year. I like Easter because it seems more of a focused holiday. It celebrates the most important event of history, the resurrection of Jesus! Also, it was always great to see an increase in attendance. : -) . For me, it showed…
You Need a Coach!
I happen to believe that every one of us needs a coach. No pastor or church leader should go it alone. One survey said that 90% of pastors feel unprepared for their current challenges. LET’S TALK… I wrote a post a while back that shared how I have benefited from coaching. Here are a…
Humility
Are you humble? That’s a trick question! If you say “Yes”, you probably are not; and you probably are not if you say “No”. Humility is illusive. Once we think we have it, we lose it. Yet, when it comes to being humble in the Bible, we are to “humble ourselves” (1 Peter 5:6; James…
Reasons Why We Aren’t Reaching Secular People
It is a different time for the Church in America. While other parts of the world, such as Asia and Africa, are experiencing rapid growth in the church, we are seeing a steady decline. And just to be clear, that drop was going on long before COVID. Our Evangelical Church has a rich past of…
R-Rated Prayer
Is God too pure to listen when his children suffer violence? By Wayne Schock As Christians, we are often aware that polite conversation excludes certain words and even whole topics, especially when young people or children are present. But how serious can I be about talking with God, when there are topics that I choose…
Leaders Who Last
We all want to be a leader who lasts. We want to be able to say along with the Apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). Sadly, too many of us burn out, bail out, or fall out. LET’S TALK Recently I…
What We Can Learn from 2021
Small Church Leadership Trends As we continue to work through COVID and culture changes, the church is forced to re-examine what it is doing and why. In today’s blog I’m sharing Karl Vaters list of trends he observed in smaller churches. As I read them over, I think they apply to larger churches as well….
Coffee with Randall 