Author: Administrador

By Bob Smietana For years, Galilee Baptist Church was a vibrant evangelical presence on Chicago’s North Side. The 500-member strong congregation had one of the largest Sunday schools in the city and a thriving missionary program overseas. Then, a little at a time, the church slowly declined. New people stopped showing up. Old members died … Continue reading “Church Revitalization: New Life for Dying Churches”

by Aaron Earls Superhero movies are leaping over the box office competition in a single bound these days. One reason superhero movies have found a wide audience is because people are naturally intrigued by the battle between good and evil. In this superhero-obsessed culture, the church has an opportunity to point to the grand story … Continue reading “Searching for a Savior: How Comic Book Movies Can Point to Christ”

Amy Shamblen photo – Unsplash By Mark Dance I recently read (and confirmed) that your phone will recharge twice as fast when you put it in airplane mode. Last summer I decided to experiment with this concept on myself, since I was tired and in need of a personal recharge. To be clear, I was … Continue reading “5 Keys to Recharging This Summer”

The answer may not be clear-cut By Bob Smeitana There’s a long history of pastors turning their sermons into books. Charles Spurgeon did it. So did Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, Dwight Moody and Charles Wesley, and a host of pastors since. All hoped to get their message out of the church and into the world. … Continue reading “Who Owns a Pastor’s Sermon?”

By Bob Smietana Jerry Klatt stood by the door at Grace Covenant Church, at the corner of Monticello and Berteau avenues on Chicago’s Northwest side, when I arrived there early on an Easter Sunday in April of 1990. I was bleary-eyed and a bit rumpled that early spring morning, after a late night out. But … Continue reading “From Dying Church to Thriving Outpost of God’s Kingdom”

By Chris Hefner If your church is like ours, then you have mission trips planned for this summer. We have teams going to West Virginia, Vermont, Honduras, and Kenya. As a missions pastor, I’ve witnessed the power of God on numerous mission trips. There can be no doubt that prayer is the primary ingredient for spiritually … Continue reading “8 Prayers You Can Pray for Your Mission Teams”

By Thom S. Rainer My book Surprising Insights from the Unchurched was released in 2001. Part of the research included an analysis of how pastors spent their time in a typical week. The amount of time they spent in sermon preparation was pretty dismal. I was able to demonstrate how greater time in sermon preparation … Continue reading “Pastors and Time in Sermon Preparation”

Wherever God has placed you and for however long He has placed you there, plant roots, develop relationships, and invest in a local church. By Aaron Earls People always dream of purchasing their own house—that is, until the plumbing bursts or the electrical goes haywire. Owning a home calls for significant investments far beyond the financial … Continue reading “Stop Renting Your Church Home”

Photo by Kaboompics.com by Joe McKeever I invite you to read this opening to my journal dated October 1980. I was 40 years old and Margaret was 38. We were in our 19th year of marriage, and pastoring the First Baptist Church of Columbus, Mississippi. Our children were 17, 14, and 11. The first entry … Continue reading “A Pastor’s Greatest Regret After a Lifetime of Ministry”

By Joe McKeever In addition to the obvious no-no’s, such as profanity, heresy, racism, sexism, and the like, no pastor should ever be heard to utter any of the following from the pulpit. 1. “I’m thinking of quitting. I haven’t decided. Pray for me.” Say that once, and the congregation is stunned. Say it twice, and a … Continue reading “13 Things a Pastor Should Never Say to a Congregation”