photo by Dan Kiefer on Unsplash If you are like me your life right now is filled with Christmas activities. I have attended two turkey dinners already with several more on the way. I have been to a beautiful Christmas…
The Lack Of Evangelism In The Church
This past week I attended an event in Calgary in which the Flourishing Congregations Institute released some preliminary findings of a church survey that they are conducting. If you haven’t seen their website https://www.flourishingcongregations.org/ you should pay it a visit.…
The Forgotten Essential
photo by ben-white-14695-unsplash I know that I am taking the following sentence out of context but I think that it extends beyond just the immediate context of the passage in which it is found. “You do not have because you…
Programs Versus Relationships
JoJo on Unsplash When I look back to my teenage years almost all of my best memories of church grew out of relationships. I remember a Sunday school teacher that took a bunch of teenage guys to his cottage for…
The Importance Of Being Intentional
I firmly believe that one of the advantages of a small church is the potential impact it has on its youth. My evidence for this is all anecdotal. I don’t know of any study that has been done that shows…
Past, Future, Present
I recently attended the fiftieth anniversary celebration of Grace Bible Chapel in Parkhill, ON. I served as pastor there for eight wonderful years. I was grateful that they invited me back and allowed me to be part of the celebration.…
God’s Surprise
For twenty-five years I did something that I enjoyed doing. I pastored a small church. It wasn’t all pressure free but it was fun. I loved preaching. I loved watching people grow in their faith. I loved the community involvement.…
Two Reasons Why You Should Think Like A Small Church
I love it when people send me links to something that they think might interest me as a small-church consultant. Usually the blog entry or podcast or article is well worth the investment of my time. A good friend sent…
The Church: God’s Creation
I am sitting in a MacDonald’s Restaurant in beautiful Muskoka looking out at God’s amazing creation. At any time, Muskoka is a beautiful place but it is never more beautiful than the first few weeks of October. The leaves are…
Appreciating The Large Church
Photo by Jordan Finney on Unsplash I love small churches. I would sooner attend a small church on a Sunday morning than any other church there is. For me there is something special about gathering with a small group of …