It is not uncommon for a church to have a lot of volunteers but only a few VOLUNTEERS, requiring ministers to constantly be in recruitment mode. And of course, constant recruiting takes an enormous amount of time.
All tagged service
The Prayer of Indifference
As followers of Christ, we ultimately want what God wants. So how do we figure out exactly what that is? While neither I nor anyone else knows exactly what that is every time, there is time and space to discern and arrive at what that could be.
Why Ministry Extends Beyond the Church Walls: A Personal Reflection
The gospels are a testament to the transformative power of personal connection, empathy, and tangible assistance—core components of ministry that extend far beyond the physical church.
The Faces of Compassion
Seeing what compassion looks like on Jesus shows us what compassion looks like on God. But what does compassion look like on you and me?
Unreasonable Hospitality: A Book Review
In Unreasonable Hospitality, Guidara describes both his personal journey in the dining industry and how he developed his obsessive pursuit of being hospitable.
Servants Called and Set Apart
What kept Paul’s fire for Christ burning even in his old age? I believe it was the conviction of his calling. He knew exactly who he was and what he existed for.
Enter My Rest…
Our need to control everything contradicts the posture we need to have before God, destroying the very thing we seek: REST!
Serving with Love
Tabitha obviously served with love, and that love was sensed by those who were beneficiaries. She lived out her faith in a tangible way that blessed others.
Reflection Roundup: Embody the Message
Embody the unchanging story, the gospel that is truer than true, where you are “you-er than you,” rather than living in response to an old memory tape.
Reflection Roundup: Topics That Stretch
Christ confesses in his Phil. 2 hymn that every knee that bows brings glory to God the Father.
Lead, Don’t Boss
Church leadership is so weird. As I observe church leadership teams, including my own, I think everyone feels it. Who is the boss? Um, maybe no one.
Reflection Roundup: We Really Are Better Together
We, the people of this common space of earth, were created by a communal God. Who do we think we are, so often going it alone?
Making Disciples When Evangelism Is Not Your Gift
Let me suggest some ways that all of us—including preachers and church leaders—should be making disciples.
Jesus Ironed His Own Clothes
Jesus emptied his entitlement so that he could serve others. I don’t believe that in a million years he ever would expect someone else to iron his clothes.
Humbling Ourselves for the One Who Humbled Himself
It’s easy to fall into a judgmental approach toward groups like the scribes and the Pharisees. Could some of the criticism Jesus levels at them could be just as easily leveled at me?
God, Glory, Giving, and a Natural Disaster
Pray fervently. Prayer is not something to do when you can do nothing else. It is the thing to do before and during everything else.
Who’s the Boss?
Our freedom is found not in being without a master, but in the identity of our master. Because there will always be a boss, it very much matters who that boss will be.
The Devil's in the Details: To Serve, Not to Be Served
We began exploring how “the devil is in the details,” as his deceptions are designed to sound appealing, and maybe even right, until we examine them more closely.
The Parable of the Birds
“So whether you swim deep, soar high, run fast, or sing beautifully, or not at all—each of you has what it is that makes birds unique and makes birds one.”
The Kingdom of Heaven Is Not Fair
The story goes that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who goes out one morning to find laborers for his vineyard.