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...
“I Don’t Think We Need to Write It!”
We don’t need to write anything down. We’ll just trust each other like Christians, and I promise you we’ll take...
How Much Do You Pay an Interim?
In each discussion with a congregation considering inviting me to work with them, we get to the question, “How much...