Blog
Blog
See How Jesus Clarifies His Posture toward the Torah
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means...
How to Make a Small Group that Actually Works
Small groups cannot do everything , but they can do a few things really well. Don’t just put some chairs in a circle and invite people over. A small group ministry should directly align with the larger ministry of the church. If spiritual formation...
The Failsafe Way to Plan Your Week for Maximum Effectiveness
Step 1: Pray and Review Pray . We have an amazing privilege as Christians to integrate our planning with prayer. Prayer is essential for our planning, because God is the one who ultimately makes our plans effective. (See Proverbs 16:3). Begin your...
The Key Way to Implement Change in our Churches
Is your church in need a boost? Does your organization seem to run on routine? If so, leadership may be lacking a little thing called ambition. Though often overlooked, ambition is a quality that can get an organization off of its feet and bring it...
How to Recruit Volunteers for Your Ministry: 3 Deceptively Simple Secrets
Does your church dream of launching more ministries? You will need more volunteers. Does the pastor dream of having a more effective ministry? You need more volunteers. Does the board dream of growing as an organization? You need more volunteers....
Should I Continue or Quit? 3 Principles for Deciding Your Next Steps
Should I continue or quit? Have you ever faced this question? I have. Quitting is not the worst thing a leader can do. There are times when a fisherman’s line gets so tangled he needs to cut his losses for the sake of survival. At other times a...
The 10 Commandments of Using Social Media
You love technology and all it offers. But you also hate it. In a nutshell, social media makes everything so much about us . We’re sucked into measuring our lives by how many followers we have and who they are. We want to believe we’re not the sum...
Guidelines for Making Disciples (Hint: You Can’t Microwave Them)
We live in a world where everyone is in a hurry, and you can either make a conscious effort to go against the grain or you will be swept away with the tide. Carrie Fisher fairly summed up our societal values when she observed, “Instant...
Are You a Peacemaker or a Pain-Avoider?
“AVOID conflict” was my middle name. I thought I was a real peacemaker—what I really was, however, was a pain-avoider. I would often hear, “John, you don’t like confrontation, do you?” While I would smile politely on the outside and mumble...
The Start of Hope
Great comeback stories give us hope. We can all relate to the experience of spending time in difficult places where we wondered if we were ever going to make it back. We’ve all been in seasons when we’ve longed for something better than what we’re...
The Threat of Suicide: An Effective and Biblical Response
Sometimes, death becomes such a promising alternative that many choose to bring it upon themselves. It is a horrifying thought. This does not change the fact that at times the chronically depressed consider suicide as a viable option. So, offering...
Pastors: How to Overcome Two Deadly Obstacles to Prayer
I want to examine two biblical obstacles to prayer, both of them drawn from the book of 1 Peter. My hope is that you can learn to dislodge these obstacles and overcome them so you will be empowered to pray more fruitfully for your people....
Leaders, Here’s One Powerful Way to Face Your Shadow
Most leaders search out books on leadership to discover new tools, ideas, or skills. We are charged with the task of knowing what to do next, knowing why it is important, and then bringing the necessary resources to bear to make it happen. Yet the...
4 Steps to a Meaningful Sabbath
All work — paid and unpaid — is good, but it needs to be boundaried by the practice of Sabbath. The problem with too many leaders is that we allow our work to trespass on every other area of life, disrupting the balanced rhythm of work and rest God...
3 Vital Questions for the Biblical Counselor
Ashley and her husband, Nate, met with me at church the day after their twin sons’ eleventh birthday. With tears streaming down her face, Ashley shared that twenty-five years earlier, not long after her eleventh birthday, a relative had begun...
How to Make the Most of Spiritual Conversations
Spiritual conversations involve good talk about our good God in the midst of our bad life. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those...
Free Resources
Using How (not) to Save the World with your church or small group?
Here are some tools to help:
The Small Group Tool Kit includes two mobile-friendly invitation cards, reflection cards to enhance your small group experience, and a worship song playlist curated by Hosanna Wong that can beplayed during small group meetings or personal Bible study time.
The Church Tool Kit includes a downloadable poster, bulletininsert, invitation card, and Power Point slide.
Is your church talking about anxiety, depression and mental health issues? You should be.
Shawn Johnson, lead pastor of Red Rocks Church, gives a
searingly honest portrait of anxiety and depression and shows readers how to fight back and live free. He also has put together three free tools pastors can use to help their congregation have a productive conversation around mental health, including a discussion guide, sermon notes and key Scripture verses.