Dear pastors and ministry leaders: One of the most frustrating things in any job is not having clear job expectations. I experienced that frustration during 15 years serving as a lead pastor—at times it felt like a 24/7 job that was not only a bit unclear, but never finished. Do I hear an “amen” echoing … Continue reading "From Greg: LEAD-P (priorities for pastors)" Read the article
Dear pastors and ministry leaders: When it comes to renewal (the GCI-USA theme for 2017), knowledge of God (theology) is both our point of beginning and guiding light on the journey. This is true whether the topic is the renewal of our leadership (the theme for the February Equipper), or the renewal of our theological vision—the theme … Continue reading "From Greg: Renewed in Christ" Read the article
Dear pastors and ministry leaders: LifeWay Resources President Thom Rainer is pretty good at predicting trends in the North American church. He’s been analyzing those trends for years, and recently shared his take on what lies ahead in an article titled “The Top Ten Major Trends for 2017.” I’ve reproduced his list below (with minor … Continue reading "From Greg: Trends for churches in 2017" Read the article
Dear fellow pastors and leaders, Our theme this issue is congregational leadership. Though a large topic, it’s vital to our ongoing journey of renewal. The old adage is generally true: “As go the leaders, so goes the church.” By definition, leaders are influencers, thus who they are as people and how they exert their influence, have … Continue reading "From Greg: team-based and pastor-led" Read the article
Dear Pastors and Ministry Leaders, Happy New Year! I pray that the year ahead will be for you one of joy and fruitfulness in Christ. As I noted in last month’s Equipper, “Renewal” will continue to be our guiding theme in 2017. For us to travel that Spirit-led journey together, it’s vital that we make some mutual commitments. … Continue reading "From Greg: mutual commitments in 2017" Read the article
Dear minister of Christ, I hope you enjoyed the theme of Renewal at our 2016 US Regional Conferences. We heard inspiring accounts of how the Holy Spirit is renewing us—opening minds and hearts to become more missional in thought and action. It’s thrilling to see him transforming us into congregations willing to go “outside the walls” … Continue reading "From Greg: Our renewal continues" Read the article
Dear fellow ministers of Christ, In my many travels with Delta Air Lines I often read Delta’s Sky magazine (typically doing the crossword puzzle first in an attempt to exercise my mind!). On a recent flight, a particular article caught my attention. It highlighted the movie Born to Be Blue, in which actor Ethan Hawke portrays fabled blues … Continue reading "From Greg: Humanizing humanity" Read the article
Dear pastors and ministry leaders: October is Clergy Appreciation Month, and though I appreciate our pastors every month of the year, this month I want to send out a special Thank you! to them all. I love these men and women, and I deeply appreciate their labor of love in the Lord. Let’s prepare for 2017 … Continue reading "From Greg: Invest in the development of your leaders" Read the article
Dear fellow ministers of Christ, For the first 14 years of my life, with my family I attended the Advent Christian Church. It was such a small denomination that I only knew of one sister church, some 40 miles away. I came to realize that many of their teachings originated with the 1900s Baptist preacher … Continue reading "From Greg: It’s not about numbers" Read the article
Dear pastors and ministry leaders, I’m an old athlete! In high school I participated in football, basketball, baseball, wrestling and track. I wish I’d played on the golf team because golf is my chosen sport in the current phase of my life. Throughout the years I’ve been trained and supervised by multiple coaches with quite … Continue reading "From Greg: Coaching matters" Read the article
