Based on chapter five of Planting Missional Churches,1 three different leadership models are presented for church planters: The Apostolic Harvest Church Planter, The Founding Pastor, and Team Planting.  Each model offers different strengths and weaknesses, which will be briefly explored here.The Apostolic Harvest Model occurs when a church planter starts a new church, raises up leaders from within...  Read More

The late Dr. Martin de Maat had a profound impact on my life (I wrote about that here). He was not only my professor and mentor, he was a close friend (Martin was even one of my wedding groomsmen!). Dr. de Maat taught me so much not only about improvisational-comedy, but more importantly about the joy of doing life together:"What happens... in being with each other in acceptance and Yes And-ing ea...  Read More

Notes from Dale O’Shields’ presentation: Leading Through Change -- When Staff and Members Leave. Staffing is a Key Decision1 Timothy 5: “Do not lay hands on a man suddenly.” Any staff hire is a very important, sobering decision. Be slow to hire.You want to hire someone who is focused on the TOWEL, not the TITLE. You are here to SERVE.2. Have a Process in Place for Evaluating Staff and Key Voluntee...  Read More

"The great difference between present-day Christianity and that of which we read in these letters is that to us it is primarily a performance, to them it was a real experience.  We are apt to reduce the Christian religion to a code, or at best a rule of heart and life.  To these men it is quite plainly the invasion of their lives by a new quality of life altogether.  They do not hesitate to descri...  Read More

I have attended NINE concerts with either the full Monkees playing or solo concerts from the likes of Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz.  None of them (I repeat, none of them) packed the emotional whallop on display from Michael Nesmith during The Monkees’ Farewell Tour stop in Detroit this past week. It is unfortunate that there has been so much online chatter and rumors regarding Nesmith’s recent heal...  Read More

My friend Bob Goff just said something to me over the phone that absolutely challenged me to the core:“Take some time to look at the rules you’ve made for yourself and start stripping away your limiting beliefs!”Wow.We are all waking up to a new and different world.Instead of fearing the future and being paralyzed by the unknown, what if we instead embraced this forced sabbatical and made positive...  Read More

There are moments in life where you can't overthink your reaction.  All you can do is pivot and make it happen.Take for instance the adoption of our youngest: Alysia Hope.Adoption wasn't even on our minds. We thought our family was complete with four kiddo's and a wiener dog to boot.Isn't it funny how life interrupts our perfectly-laid plans?That's when we got the phone call out of the blue: The b...  Read More

Three of my children are African-American.Before they entered my life, I did not fully understand.Now when I see the news, their faces always flash through my mind.It could be MY son or MY daughter.It's personal.None of us with white skin have pain because of our skin color.My friends with different skin have stories. If you don’t know this get to know some folks.Race conversations are uncomfortab...  Read More

Churches get stuck all the time.Too often we can find ourselves doing ministry out of memory.For what it's worth, here are 5 Important Questions for Fearless Leaders to ask... 400 years ago Protestants fled England and came to the New World to set up churches... for themselves.  If your church is insider-focused, it's because of our Pilgrim heritage!Ignite your passion for what ignites God's heart...  Read More

I had a BLAST sharing about what God is doing at the church I love, partying with Chris Farley, PLUS how EXCITED I was to open for LEE STROBEL at the Outreach Summit! Jonathan Herron is the Founding and Teaching Pastor of Life Church Michigan, the 11th Fastest Growing Church in America (Outreach Magazine, 2019). Jonathan says the two main ingredients to church leadership in the 21st century are la...  Read More

1. You Matter2. Depression Sucks (I should know, I have it).3. NOTHING can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (see Romans 8:31-39)!///Church Leaders: You don't have to lead alone.Join the Fearless Leaders Network for pure laughter, raw encouragement, and fresh strategies for leading your church fearlessly.///I would be honored to connect with you:Instagram.com/highfivejontwit...  Read More