Minister's Toolbox

Have you noticed that reports of the miraculous are much more plentiful in third world countries than in the U.S. or Europe?  For our part, we pretty much dismiss most of it as ignorance, superstition and unimportant. A philosophy governs society and permeates our educational system. It affects how we view ourselves and the world. To a large extent this philosophy deeply hinders gospel efforts by both churches and leaders. The worse thing is, the vast majority of us are not even aware of this. It occurred several hundred years ago and now thoroughly dominates the lives of millions of people. The Enlightenment proposed that science and logic give people more knowledge and understanding scripture. I discuss how this philosophy has hindered the effectiveness of our members during the podcast. I mentioned that you can listen to the first chapter of my book, When A Good Church Goes Bad, but now that it is published, you can read the first three chapters here.

Numerical growth is one gauge people use to determine the effectiveness of any ministry. It is a legitimate gauge, providing we are talking about actually reaching lost people. Throughout the United States and other parts of the world, growth tends to be cosmetic. Only about 5% is due to new converts. Without realizing it pastors can unwittingly become the ringmasters of a circus. Our time is spent trying to keep the crowd happy by the next trapeze or clown act, not realizing that much of the effort is fruitless. Pastors burn out and waste a lot of church resources trying to keep the excitement level up, but is that what Jesus honestly asked us to do with our ministries? Last time I checked, there was something there about making disciples, but I could be wrong. There are dangers in striving to make our church the biggest, the best and the greatest. During the podcast, I share about how to keep things real. We mentioned MileIQ on the show today. Here is the link if you would like to try the free app.  You can

Most pastors do a lot of things in ministry. By the end of the week or year, we look back and wonder if all the preaching, counseling, budgeting, seminars and meetings were actually productive. Ephesians 4:11-16 states that there are five specific leadership callings in the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. We talk about what this means in present-day terms during the podcast. At the end of the day, the number one question we all must answer when we stand before Christ and give an account of our labors is: did we train the people God gave us to do the work of ministry? If you want to see Christianity in action, sneak into a restaurant sometime and observe how Christians act. In general, Christians often are the most disagreeable and demanding patrons! Something is broken in how we train people for ministry. I wrote a study guide designed for individuals or small groups. The guide will help people in your congregation discover and then function in their gifts under your supervisi

How much of what we do or practice as a church is sending the opposite message of what we are trying to convey? Is our church saying, "All Are Welcome" outwardly, but in reality, saying, all are welcome if you become like us as soon as possible? About 80% of people come to your church through personal invitation. Included in that statistic is checking you out on the web before they come.   During the podcast we attempt to look at your church through the eyes of guests. Other than telling people to come again, have you thought through why people should? Is your church actively thinking about how to attract your guests to return again and again and again? “You never have to advertise a fire. Everyone comes running when there's a fire. Likewise, if your church is on fire, you will not have to advertise it. The community will already know it.” During the podcast, I offered two chapters of my (now published) book, When A Good Church Goes Bad. You can read THREE chapters for free here.

Christians tend to move around.  They come to your church from another church across town because they are searching for something they haven’t found elsewhere. When people come from other churches, we can be faced with several ethical dilemmas. For example, what about people who come to us as victims of spiritual abuse? What if it is a pastor we know? During the podcast, we delve into solving these ethical questions and offer real solutions. I can attest from personal experience that coming away from a spiritually abusive environment is not easy. Here is the reason: To become genuinely free of spiritual abuse, you must address what attracted you to it in the first place. I republished a book about this experience I had more than 30 years ago and it is now available on Kindle, as a paperback and also on Audiobooks. It is entitled Spiritual Abuse: How To Break Free From Toxic Churches Without Losing Your Faith. The book shares my journey as both a congregant and a leader over 15 years of my Christian life. If

Someone says, “How are you doing?” Our #1 answer is: “Busy.” Busy is a great word because it means absolutely nothing. People who are not in ministry honestly don’t understand fully what it means to work for God. You decide on what activities will be productive towards reaching the goals heaven has set for your life, family, and ministry. I have always worked in non-denominational settings, so for the most part; I am master of my own time. That can be great or disastrous if a person is not disciplined. Perhaps it is time to pull that blue tooth out of your ear and get your life back. You are not a machine after all. God did not create you to be June bug, bouncing off the wall of one crisis after another. During the podcast, I share the three tips to help you become more productive together with a free download. Chinese proverb: “He that chases two rabbits catches neither."   I also mentioned a free To-Do list download that you can access here. 

How does a hate-filled young man, mixed up in Kung-fu Karate and eastern mysticism find a path to Christ? Today, I share my journey that eventually led to full time church ministry. During the podcast, I mention a free offer. You can get a free audio of the first 3 chapter of my (now published) book, When A Good Church Goes Bad. Listen here or get the entire book free at audible.com

In this second part of a two-part series, we address heresy INSIDE your church. How do you address people who intend to siphon people away from your church to build their own? We offer a free download today, How To Address Heresy In Your Church. I also mentioned MileIQ which is a great free tool to help you track the miles your drive to take advantage of legitimate tax breaks from the IRS. More information about MileIQ here.

Heresy inside and outside our churches is a serious responsibility all leaders must face at one time or another. How do we address it biblically? I spoke of a national ministry that serves as an example of heretical teaching. I also mention a website you can use to verify whether rumors are true before you pass them along on social media. It is called, Snopes.com. I also invited you to submit a question for future podcasts on a new feature on our website at www.ministerstoolbox.com.

Can church leaders "fake it till they make it?" For a while, but our ministries can never truly have impact unless they are authentic. We are called to deliver fresh bread to our audiences, not stale sermons. How do we do that week in and week out? I will be doing a survey to our email list. Please sign up to get a free eBook on how to be more effective with social media.

Church leaders often do their work unnoticed and under-appreciated.  How do you respond to people who fail to acknowledge the hard work you do month after month or year after year? Some insights on today's podcast. I also talked about a new affiliate tool that can be helpful this coming year for your taxes. It is called MileIQ. Click on this link for more information.

What did Jesus mean when he said, Judge not, or you will be judged? Does that mean we cannot judge under any circumstances? How can we do our jobs as leaders if we are not allowed to judge? Does this even make sense? Today we mentioned the best seller, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. We also mentioned Audible books where you can get a 30-day free trial.

The majority of people in western countries believe in Jesus, but see no connection between belief and participation in a local church. Why? Has the gospel lost its relevance or are our church services at fault? During today's show, I recommended a book by Watchman Nee entitled, The Latent Power Of The Soul. Click here to read a chapter on Amazon.

We do a great deal of praying in public, but does it really impact anyone?  Is there a way to make a difference when we pray and ditch formal prayers that are quickly forgotten? We offer a free download on today's show that give you the salient points from both this episode and last week. You can get it here.

Ministers are often called on to pray at public gatherings. Do these prayers ever impact anyone? How should ministers pray in public? A book I recommend for personal prayer devotions is The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds. Very practical and inspirational.     

As church leaders, we are called to know, understand and be led by God's voice, but what does He sound like? How can you tell if you are hearing Him or just your imagination? Today, we chat about 3 sure ways to hear God speak. I also mention a free download which sums up each point that you can get here.

Listening both to God and people is an essential skill for anyone seeking to minister on behalf of Christ.  Today, I share five simple tips that you can do right now to become a better listener. Click here for a free download summarizing these tips. Since this podcast, my book was published. If you would like to read the first three chapters for free, click here.

  A “loose cannon” is a person lacking insight. Their whose actions and/or speech jeopardizes the safety of people in their proximity or under their authority. In the body of Christ, we have powerful and gifted people who can do great good or great harm.  The only way that power and gifting have focus and ultimate effectiveness is when each cannon is under the authority and command of the captain. Cannons left to themselves always damage other Christians, and if left unchecked can bring down the whole ship. One of our jobs as a minister is also to help people discover their spiritual gifts and then create avenues for them to use those gifts to help grow the church. The difficulty comes when a member wants to use their gift or gifts to find acceptance and affirmation instead of serving. The Greek word for ministry is doulos: serving. Not yourself and your agenda; the body of Christ and His agenda. As a pastor or leader, you’ve been entrusted with a vision of where God wants to lead your church. It doesn’t mean

We spend many hours readying, praying and studying to preach sermons each week, but after a few hours they are often forgotten. People get busy doing other things and we have seven more days before another sermon is expected. Are there effective ways to make our sermons last longer? On today's podcast, I mention two: First - record your sermons and put them on your website. You can do this for free or at little cost by going to www.sermon.net. There, you can upload MP3 files and post them on your site and even on ITunes or Sticher. Second - publish your sermons in book form. Here is a recent example. Go to Kindle Publishing to get started!   

You're a leader in God's Church. What exactly does that mean?  In Ephesians 4: 11-12, Paul told us that Christ gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to His Church. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people. By definition, a leader trains disciples with their gift.   If you cut me open, you would not find a pastor, functionally speaking. Teaching forms the foundation of my calling. I teach spiritual truth to whoever is willing to listen. If you are around me for any length of time, you will gain understanding in ways you have not thought about before.  I am not a fountain of knowledge. This does not occur because I am talented, brilliant or insightful. Christ installed a teaching gift for me to benefit other people. Teaching is a gift, not an ability. God has given this gift to thousands to advance His kingdom purposes. My mission is to be sure that when I stand before God, I have used this gift the way Christ intended. The way I equip people is to impart spiritual truth.  Jesus gave