In 2002, I was blessed with an opportunity to participate in a black powder elk hunt on the Floyd Lee Ranch in Cibola County, New Mexico. The hunt was provided by a group of guys who decided to bless their poor pastor-friend with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The four-by-four elk rack displayed near my woodstove serves
Does your church have a compelling vision? If it does, do you know what it is? Do you talk with other church members about the vision? Do your leaders continually promote the vision of the church? Do you celebrate the victories that lead you toward the accomplishment of your vision? Vision is a vital component
The mission of the church is making disciples. Doing so is accomplished through baptism and through teaching believers to obey everything Jesus commanded. Sounds simple, right? Well, it is — and it isn’t. Let me explain. If disciple-making was strictly an academic pursuit, we could package it as a curriculum of books and classes and
What is the mission of the Church? That’s a big question — and trying to answer it keeps a lot of pastors and church leaders up at night. Trust me on that. I didn’t sleep well last night. I think part of the struggle in defining the mission is understanding the difference between the universal
You can’t consider the purposes of the church without considering the vital directive Jesus gave His disciples in John 13:34, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” The command to love one another was not new to the disciples. When a teacher
As we emerge from the pandemic, the Church world is asking itself some very basic questions: What is the Church? What is the Church supposed to be doing? How does the Church know when it is doing the right things? How does the Church determine when it has been successful? The answers to these questions
