Transition Monitoring Team
In my first interim, the elders asked for help with communication. They said, “Members won’t tell us what they’re thinking.”...
Staff Meetings
Unity isn’t an accident looking for a place to happen. I often hear youth ministers, preachers, administrative assistants, and other...
Opening Family Meeting
At the beginning of each interim, usually on the first Sunday night following evening services, I hold a Family Meeting...
Discussion Rules
You can’t have a congregational meeting here. It always gets out of hand.” “I’d be afraid to address these things...
Originality Rule
When I started preaching at the age of 16, I’d never heard of exegesis or hermeneutics. I saw a book...
Criticism Rule
My rule for criticism is: I love criticism! As a young preacher, I dreaded, feared, and avoided criticism. I equated...
Communication Rules
I was just beginning my ministry at a new congregation, shaking people out of the building on a Sunday night....
Name Memory Rule
We’ve been doing interim ministry more than nine years. We’ve worked with six congregations. There are more than 2,500 people...
Beginning at a New Church — My First Three Rules
I like to begin with rules — guidelines, expectations. Family rules are usually unconscious, unspoken, but understood. That means we...
How Do You Get the Word Out?
Someone asked a few months ago how to get the word out that you’re available. Unless a preacher is independently...