November 5, 2025
When a Plan Comes Together
A sermon should be long enough to adequately exegete and apply the main point of the passage, but short enough to leave mature Christians willing to listen a few minutes longer.
Articles for tag: Time Management
February 5, 2020
More Nexus Church Planters Choosing Bi-Vocational Path
By Chris Moon If you’re going to coach it, it helps to live it. And so Phil Claycomb got another job. That is, he got an additional job. The executive director of Texas-based Nexus Church Planting during the past year and a half also has worked 10 to 12 hours weekly helping out a local church that is trying to resurrect itself after falling on hard times. Central Christian Church in Richardson, Texas, saw its attendance drop in half and its finances lag. The church convinced Claycomb to come serve as its pastor in 2018. Claycomb was happy to help.
January 22, 2017
How Social Media Is Hurting Your Ministry
By Michael C. Mack “Are we willing to quit social media (and other distractions) if the temptations are too strong . . . to overcome?” Brian Jones asks this question on Senior Pastor Central (www.seniorpastorcentral.com). Jones says for years he was convinced that switching from the study of God”s Word and sermon preparation to distractions such as checking social media, text, or e-mails didn”t hurt him at all. After reading Deep Work by Cal Newport, however, he says he better understands the costs. Newport warns about what he calls “attention residue,” the lingering effects from switching back and forth between
December 22, 2016
The Wrong Kind of Strong
By Eddie Lowen Three attributes we should seek when we say we want a strong leader. In Disney”s animated film Beauty and the Beast, a strapping young man named Gaston cannot fathom why Belle (the Beauty, herself) is so disinterested in him. After all, Gaston is Mr. Everything. As the song sung by Gaston”s sidekick exclaims, he”s the slickest and quickest, and his neck is the thickest! No one can “hit” or “match wits” like Gaston. And for the record, no one can spit like him, either! With a bio like that, what young French maiden could resist? Answer: Belle. She
October 13, 2015
Calculating the Right Answer
By Mark A. Taylor “You don”t own your possessions. Your possessions own you.” Not true for you, you say? Well, try this experiment. Think about your time: For one month keep a running diary of every minute you spend fueling your car, washing your car, or taking your car to the garage. Then add time spent cleaning the house, performing maintenance at the house, decorating, replacing broken appliances, or doing yard work To this log, add any time you”ve spent purchasing, repairing, or maintaining other favorite possessions: electronics, computers, smartphones, and the like. And then add time spent shopping for
September 18, 2012
Have a Good Trip . . . I Mean, Meeting!
By James Riley Estep Jr. My family and I enjoy taking trips. We”ve become rather good at preparing for the trip, traveling together, having fun, and capturing the memories. Trips and travel are a lot like meetings. In fact, meetings could learn a lot from family trips. Perhaps most important to consider is this: who”s driving? Elders” meetings are typically driven by the chairman. His role is to oversee and administrate every aspect of the journey, from preparation to the return to the real world in which we serve. Meetings have one driver, the chairman. Where Are We Going?
August 25, 2010
I Can See You, September
As summer slips away, Mark A. Taylor reflects on the sadness and gratitude that come with changing seasons—and the fresh ministry opportunities churches often find as fall schedules and routines return.
November 15, 2009
Growing Leaders in a Young Church: Interior and Exterior
By Steve Cuss I used to believe that a good-hearted pastor with a strong work ethic and a vision from God could lead a thriving local church. Four years into my own journey, four churches around us have closed their doors. In order to thrive, I”ve learned to focus on the interior life of the leader and the exterior structure of the church. Your Interior Life Baptize your calendar!“”I”m convinced my calendar is a pagan””possibly even a devil worshiper. It can run my life ragged if I”m not careful, keeping me so consumed with details that I neglect my fundamental
May 21, 2008
From Guilt to Joy
By Mark A. Taylor As I remember it, I spent most of my first full-time ministry feeling guilty. The issue was my time and what to do with it. When I was working for the church, I worried about how much time I was spending away from home. When I was home, I worried about all the church work I””or some church member””thought I should be doing. It was a lose-lose situation that I escaped with my move to the 9-to-5 world of the publishing house. But since then I”ve replaced my guilt about time with fretting about money. It
January 13, 2008
A Simple Plan for Children”s and Youth Ministers Threatened by Burnout
By Matt and Amy Andrew Why are so many ministers to children and youth experiencing burnout and leaving the ministry? Could it be we need to focus on what is truly important in youth and family ministry? Have we learned to spend the most time on activities that make ministry effective? How often do ministers feel as if they are on an unstoppable treadmill, jumping from one program to another, packing as many activities into the week as they possibly can? How many feel they are not effective in ministry unless the church door is always open and something is
December 3, 2006
The High Cost of Marital Counseling
By Phil LeMaster It”s happened a hundred times, I suppose, in the 35 years of my preaching ministry. A couple calls for an appointment. Could I see them about some problems they are having at home? Of course I say yes, not really eager for another counseling assignment, but knowing it is a part of the territory that comes with the located ministry in our present world. We set up the appointment and have our first session and, as they start to leave, the husband turns and says, “By the way, how much do you charge for counseling?” Reflexively I
July 26, 2006
One Course, Two Kinds of Runners
Mark A. Taylor reflects on “sprinters” and “marathon runners” in ministry work—why different rhythms can clash on church staffs, and how healthy teams learn to plan, adapt, and value each other’s strengths.
June 12, 2005
Five Keys for Effective Teaching and Preaching
Strong communication shapes how people perceive a church. Jim Tune shares five practical keys—preparation, clear structure, respect for time, effective storytelling, and wise use of technology—to help teaching and preaching move from dull to dynamic.
