October 17, 2023
Tim Harlow is retiring at the end of this month after 33 years as senior pastor at Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park, Ill. Harlow led the suburban Chicago church as it grew from just 150 people in 1990 to well more than 8,000 at its pre-pandemic height. Harlow said retiring and moving away after so long in one place isn’t easy. . . .
June 14, 2023
The Southern Baptist Convention voted overwhelmingly Tuesday night to uphold the expulsions of Saddleback Church in California and Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., for having women pastors. Both churches had appealed those decisions, announced in February. . . .
April 17, 2023
After feeding the 5,000 in the wilderness, Jesus retreated to the far northern country to gain some margin in his life. While there, he encountered a desperate mother . . .
June 9, 2021
Stadia Church Planting and Missions of Hope International have announced a partnership and goal of planting 100 churches, building 100 schools, and sponsoring 100,000 children by 2030. PLUS NEWS BRIEFS . . . including a free retreat for ministers at Great Lakes Christian College.
May 1, 2021
Like it or not, many seats remain empty on Sunday morning, and rather than stew about it, we should do something about it. Now is the time to chase strays.
March 25, 2019
Multisite in a New Light By Justin Horey The multisite model has been gaining momentum for years among large churches and megachurches nationwide. But when Real Life Church in Valencia, California, embraced the multisite model of ministry, it did so differently than many other churches. Real Life launched two new campuses in 2018, both in nontraditional ways: one campus was created through a merger/acquisition, and one campus was designed to reach people online. For more than a decade, Real Life Church had a close relationship with Discovery Church in nearby Simi Valley, California. Both churches were planted by Shepherd of
January 10, 2018
By Tom Burbrink, Kim Robinette, and Karen Isaacs People of all stripes have difficulty with personal finances, but it can be even more challenging for ministers. A minister’s life is an open book; his salary might be public knowledge. When a minister struggles with personal finances, it impacts his effectiveness and can even cause him to leave the pulpit. Some of the best ministers are terrible at handling their personal finances. Contributing factors include: A lack of financial training in seminary Absence of teaching on how to keep simple records of ministry expenses An unavailability of people with whom to
By Arron Chambers Christian leaders tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. David Mehrle David Mehrle serves as lead pastor with Southwest Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas. He became a Christian while he was in junior high. He has served the church in student ministry and as a lead pastor for more than 22 years. He graduated from St. Louis Christian College and received his master”s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. David”s Best Sermon: The best sermon I have heard is “Speak! Against Culture” by Dr. Shane Wood, professor of New Testament at Ozark Christian
February 26, 2017
By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Bob Blanshan Bob Blanshan, his beautiful wife, Sarah, and three children live in Crowley, Louisiana, where he serves as the children and family minister at Forest Park Church of Christ. He grew up on the other end of the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota, attending a church just six miles from the Canadian border. Bob is fortunate to have heard a lot of great preaching throughout his lifetime, including his father, Dale Blanshan, and his grandfather, Bob Blanshan,
September 14, 2016
By Jim Tune I wonder how often we fall for forms of Christianity, ideas that capture us because they fit well within the borders of our comfort zone. We truncate our faith when we redefine it in ways that are less than, more than, or even outside the essence of Christianity. Thus this list of things Christianity is more than: 1. Christianity is more than religion. Many people have so long identified the words religion and Christianity that many consider them to be synonyms. Religion emphasizes systems, propositions, piety, rules, observances, and human effort. “Religion,” according to Christian author and
April 18, 2016
“You don”t have to leave the movement to lead beyond it.” Six perspectives on a provocative statement ________ By Jennifer Johnson These leaders love the Restoration Movement and its principles, but they also work and minister “outside” of it with the churches they serve, the partnerships they pursue, and the parachurch ministries they lead. Here are their thoughts on what it means to go beyond the movement, why it matters, and how it can honor God. Brent Storms The biggest question for me is how does one “get in” and “get out” of our movement? We”re coming across planters and church
April 6, 2016
By Jim Tune In last week”s blog I posted an annotated list of five axioms for Christian leaders and promised five more for this week. I haven”t attempted to rank these axioms, as they are mostly situationally driven. They either apply to your current circumstance or they don”t. All of them have found application to my life and leadership””some of them very recently. Here are five more axioms for this week: 1. Become a lifelong learner. Read something. Harry S. Truman said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Rick Warren insists that the moment you stop
January 1, 2016
By Eddie Lowen Before you decide you want your church to grow, let me tell you the price you will pay. After taking the staff and elders of a former church to a leadership simulcast in the late 1990s, I learned that I still had a lot to learn. For several years, Rick Warren”s book The Purpose Driven Church had been making a huge impact on churches applying its principles. The simulcast was a way for our leaders to catch this kind of vision. Our church was already growing in size and health, but I knew there was another level
June 29, 2015
By Michael C. Mack While discipleship is more than a program or curriculum, a number of tools can be helpful in your discipling process. Here are nine resources recommended by ministers and elders across the country: 1. The Pastoral Epistles (especially 1 & 2 Timothy) 2. Thoroughly Equipped (available at www.thoroughlyequipped.org) 3. The Truth Project, Del Tackett (www.thetruthproject.org) 4. Seven Keys to an Effective Ministry, Rick Warren (www.pastors.com/7keys) 5. Multiply, Francis Chan (www.multiplymovement.com) 6. Becoming a Disciple-Maker / A Call to Joy, Billie Hanks Jr. (www.ieaom.org) 7. Real-Life Discipleship Training Manual: Equipping Disciples Who Make Disciples, Jim Putman (amazon.com, among
September 6, 2014
By Tim Harlow I made a joke the final day of the North American Christian Convention when I appointed my friend Mike Baker as next year”s president. I knighted him with a sword (because Mike and I are weird that way), and then I said, “But I”m keeping the sword””because you might be tempted to fall on it sometime this year.” In case you are wondering, there is no pay involved in being the president. Actually it”s the opposite; your church or organization will likely have to spend money on it, and it will cost you in many ways. Is
August 31, 2014
By Darrel Rowland It”s hard to say which was the more unusual sight at this year”s North American Christian Convention: the heavy-metal guitarist with waist-length dreadlocks and arms covered by tattoos as a featured speaker or the video of venerable Ben Merold, now 88, playing the Godfather. Or was it the appearance of a beardless Duck Dynasty star? Perhaps the oversized beach balls and foam flying discs tossed into the crowd before several of the services? Or possibly even the NACC president admitting that his primary prayer to God was “not to screw up the work of his Holy Spirit”
August 30, 2014
By Michael C. Mack 1. Use impressive, big words like regeneration, justification, and eschatology as much as possible. 2. Interject names such as Polycarp, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and, yes, Rick Warren and Max Lucado. 3. Be serious all the time. Since you are studying God”s Holy Word, there is no time for fun or frivolity! 4. Don”t allow people to share their feelings. Focus on facts. Feelings have no place in Bible study. 5. Do most of the talking. Study diligently and then share everything you learned about your topic. This is what it means to teach. 6. If no one responds
July 15, 2014
By Mark A. Taylor A large convention of Jehovah”s Witnesses met last weekend in Indianapolis, on the heels of the North American Christian Convention there Tuesday through Friday. When some JW delegates began arriving on Thursday, a teenager I know said, “I wonder if they”ll go through the hotel, knocking on every door.” We all chuckled, but later I thought, Wouldn”t it be something if OUR movement were known for persistently sharing what we believe about Christ? After last week”s convention, that could happen. President Tim Harlow”s theme for the week was ReMission, a challenge to recommit to the mission
March 7, 2014
By Jennifer Johnson In American Religion: Contemporary Trends, author Mark Chaves reports the percentage of people in the United States who say they “never” attend church has risen steadily over the last 30 years, and that if current trends continue, we will soon be a “Protestant-minority” country. Warren Bird, director of research for Leadership Network, recently blogged that 125 million Americans””more than 1 out of 3″”haven”t attended any religious services in the last year, and writes, “That number alone would be the 10th largest country in the world!” At this year”s North American Christian Convention, President Tim Harlow will challenge
January 18, 2014
By Tim Harlow I”m sure you”ve heard the joke in a sermon somewhere. It”s versatile””you can target any denomination. Peter is showing someone around Heaven. As he walks down the hallway, he says, “Here is the Lutheran room, here is the Methodist room, here is the Presbyterian room,” and then he starts whispering. “Shhh, we have to be quiet walking by this one. It”s the (fill in the blank) room, and they think they are the only ones here.” I grew up in the independent Christian churches, where it was my experience “independents” were the fill in the blank. I
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