The Missional Movement is Overwhelmingly White

    Written in June, 2019. Updated. While finishing my book (e-book only $2.99!) Thrive, the bibliography reminded me of overwhelming lack of representation in the movement. At one point there were ZERO authors of color in the list. There was one woman. In fact, despite...

    3 Ways Churches Fake Success

    Originally posted in 2015 and updated. The church in North America has lost profound influence over the past 50 years. That’s no longer a surprise to leaders. Despite watching the slow decline unfold leaders have either ignored the shift, or at best made attempt...

    Re-imagining Church Leadership in 2020s

    I had the pleasure of being invited to hold a session at the Praxis 2018 gathering in Philadelphia, put on by the growing church planting movement V3. The theme of the entire conference centered around a much needed conversation on re-imagining leadership. Little did...

    Time to Decenter Preaching

    Do Christians Even Want 40 Minute Opinions Expositions? Updated May 7th, 2018; Updated February 20th, 2010.  Some churchgoers think that the sign of a good church is the quality of the preaching. I’ve heard, “there’s no community to speak of, but the...

    5 Ways Commuter Churches are Killing Christianity

    Anecdotal evidence suggests lengthy commutes may be killing you physically. Can we say the same thing about commuter churches and their impact on dwindling church attendance? I remember a conversation with a lead pastor of a megachurch. We were talking about...

    Goldilocks and the Church of Status Quo

    Does your church grow by evangelism? Probably not. Can you even think of a single congregation that’s bursting at the seams because of their robust evangelism program? Probably not…. The haunting question is WHY?! I blame the Church of Goldilocks, a...

    The Gift of Obscurity in Ministry

    Posted Feb 29 2015, redone and reposted. Ministers that take new ideas and imagination for the church/community and put them into action are pioneers who step outside the bounds of convention and into the unknown. Most pioneers start off small, and then move to bigger...

    What is Localized Liturgy in Worship?

    Many ‘contemporary’ churches have sung the same songs or hymns for decades. If you turn on any Christian radio station, it could be years in between listening, and the same bands and songs are playing. I remember a song growing up that always pulled...