Spiritual Growth
CCLP 020: Danielle Strickland on Becoming a Great Communicator, Knowing When It’s Time to Move On and Being a Rebel At Heart
In many eyes (including mine), Danielle Strickland is one of the best communicators of our generation, and she’s Canadian. Danielle talks about how she discovered she was a communicator, walks us through her preparation process for speaking and preaching, and talks about how being a teenage rebel prepared her to serve in an established church…
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5 Rather Surprising Findings About Growing and Declining Churches
Today’s post is written by my friend, Tony Morgan, Founder of The UnStuck Group. Carey recently shared 5 attitude differences he sees in the leaders of growing vs. declining churches. He hit the nail on the head. My team at The Unstuck Group and I are on the ground serving in 100s of churches of all…
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6 Things That Make Ministry Harder Than It Was A Decade Ago
Ever feel like ministry is harder than it was a decade ago? You’re not alone. I am an eternal optimist when it comes to the church, but I agree that ministry is more challenging than it’s ever been. Understanding why is key to figuring out what to do and how to respond. You may or may not like…
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5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Preach Other People’s Sermons
These are interesting times for communicators and preachers. Never have we had access to so many other people’s messages. And never have we felt more pressure in delivering our own. Almost monthly I hear of pastors (most of whom will never make the headlines) who are losing their job because of plagiarism—using someone else’s content…
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7 Signs Your Church Is (Finally) Reaching Unchurched People
So as a church leader you have a desire to reach new people with the good news of Jesus. But how do you know your church is really finally (truly) reaching the unchurched? First, you can (and should) use data to find out whether you are attracting transfer growth or truly unchurched people. Your welcome…
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Why Pretty Much Every Church Leader Needs Marriage Counselling
This is a guest post by my executive assistant, Sarah Piercy who, in addition to working with me for the last 9 years, is a wife and young mom. She wrote this piece for her own blog, and, well, it was too compelling not to share it with you here. I think so many of us can use…
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A False Spiritual Maturity Test For Christians…and a Better One
One of the frequent criticisms I hear of churches that are trying to reach people who don’t attend church is that they fail to produce ‘disciples’. Honestly, this is a criticism that, off and on, has been levied at our ministry for years. And it bothers me. On a recent speaking tour, I heard it again and…
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Why Bishop Michael Curry’s Sermon Brought Down the House at the Royal Wedding
Even if you missed the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, by now you’ve likely heard that American Bishop Michael Curry brought down the house with his incredible sermon. It was, by many accounts—including mine—just a fantastic message on the Gospel. It grabbed headlines in England and around the world and the media can’t…
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7 Very Possible Reasons You’re Losing Your Audience When You Speak
If there’s one thing you never set out to be as a leader or communicator, it’s to lose the audience. And yet everyone who communicates, preaches or even tries to persuade someone of an idea has discovered that sinking sense that you’ve lost them. You’re just not connecting and you have no idea why. How exactly does…
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CNLP 192: Caleb Kaltenbach on How to Embrace an Outraged and Polarized Culture Most Leaders No Longer Like
In a polarized culture filled with a growing number of angry people, how do you find your voice, counter arguments and keep your sanity? Messy Grace author Caleb Kaltenbach is back with a fresh look on how to embrace a culture of outrage and division. Conservatives and liberals both struggle to respond to the changes…
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