Spiritual Growth
5 Pastoral Emergencies That Aren’t Emergencies
If you’ve been in ministry for any length of time, you know the challenge of trying to move the mission forward and handle the pastoral needs of a congregation at the same time. One of the most perplexing problems pastors and church leaders face is how to handle ‘pastoral emergencies’—the crises that come up in…
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CNLP Bonus 017: 8 Keys to Breaking the 200 Barrier
In this special bonus episode, Brian Orme interviews Carey on the 8 key reasons 85% of churches never break the 200 attendance barrier. Welcome to Bonus Episode 017 of the podcast. Links Mentioned Be a part of the Breaking 200 Without Breaking You launch here Churchleaders.com Church Leaders Podcast: Episode 38 3 Insights from This Episode 1.…
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CNLP 157: Jon Acuff on What It Takes for You To Finish What You Start, Finding Your Career Path and The Rhythms and Routines That Make People Successful
New York Times best-selling author Jon Acuff is back on the podcast to talk about research he did about why some people finish their goals when most people don’t. In this wide-ranging interview, Carey also deconstructs some of the rhythms and routines that have made Jon successful. Finally, Jon offers some challenging public speaking advice…
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5 Signs Your Motives For Church Growth Are Bad
You probably have an immediate reaction to the concept of church growth. You might get really excited about it, or maybe you wince and launch into a list of criticisms in your head (or on your keyboard). Personally, I’m committed to helping churches reach more people because I long to see everyone in a personal…
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7 Easy Ways to Blow It With A Mentor
Almost every leader you talk to these days either wants a mentor; has a mentor or is mentoring someone. I talk to scores of young leaders who want to be mentored. So let’s say you land the mentor you were hoping to get…how do you make the most of that relationship? I’ve seen more than a…
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The Current American Tension and 4 Opportunities for the Church
You don’t need to be anything more than a casual observer of American (and Western) culture to know that something significant is happening. Charlottesville, Ferguson, Baltimore and a host of other cities that have seen events which symbolize the problems this generation is struggling with will, sadly, likely give way to a list of more…
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CNLP 152: Eugene Peterson on Why He Wrote the Message, The Rhythms of a Reflective Life + Mark Batterson and Adam Weber on Peterson’s Legacy
Eugene Peterson is a living legend. Carey talks to Eugene about the origin of the Message and the life rhythms he and his wife Jan adopted that helped produce the legacy millions have appreciated. Plus, Carey follows his conversation with Eugene with a round table discussion with best selling authors Mark Batterson and Adam Weber…
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How to Respond to a Culture You Don’t Like Anymore
Ever feel like the culture is changing so much you really don’t like it? You’re not alone. The culture around us is changing. You can debate when the collapse of Christendom in the West began, but there is little doubt we are witnessing a massive shift away from the cultural consensus that existed even a…
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5 Honest Struggles Most Church Leaders Don’t Want To Admit
Most of us who get into full-time ministry do so because we sense a calling, not because it was a ‘career path’. Chances are you got in this because you love God, deeply, right? So it’s always a bit surprising and unusual then when ministry leaders find themselves struggling with the very God who called…
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Are You an Organizational Leader or a Shepherd? (10 Easy Ways To Tell)
So are you an organizational leader, or are you more of a relational leader—a shepherd? It’s an interesting question, and a highly polarizing one in the church today. Ditto for this blog. Just check out the impassioned comments on this post, where I argue the church today needs more entrepreneurial leaders, not more shepherds. Why…
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