Category Archives: Church Growth

Posted on

Wow!!

Remember that warning your parents used to give you?
The one about: How holding a particular expression too long could cause your face to stick that way? It crossed my mind last week.

I was with Pastor Len Crow of North Country Baptist Church in Orillia and my mouth was open the whole time. I’ll share the North Country story (as I remember it) and you can see what it does to your expression. Be warned!

  • A congregation of 75
  • 11 years old
  • That has planted 2 congregations
  • Dedicated its 1st bldg in Canada last week
  • A building that will seat 500
  • With no debt
  • Entirely off the hydro grid
  • Powered by solar electricity
  • Heated radiantly with water and propane
  • That first built a $300,000 orpanage in Cambodia
  • Supporting that orphanage to the tune of $6,000 a month
  • Supporting another in Mexico to the tune of $100/month
  • Supporting another in the Phillipines to the tune of $100/month

You can close your mouth now.

Before you react too strongly, let me say, I’m sure I got some of these figures wrong. Its difficult to hear with your mouth wide open.

To get the facts contact Pastor Len Crow, North Country Baptist Church.  www.northcountrybaptistchurch.com

When you talk to him, please, try to keep your mouth closed.

Posted on

Living the Dream

Have you ever had a dream that you thought was from God?

It’s happened to me repeatedly.

In Bible College
I had a dream of coming alongside churches, bringing them together in terms of relationships and sending them out in ways of evangelism.

Afterward
I had a dream of coming alongside graduates, helping them discover whether they fit, helping them find that place and excel in it.

As a young pastor
I had a dream of coming alongside leaders, who were going thru tough times, helping them to gain perspective and move forward.

As an older pastor
I had a dream of a place of retreat, for pastors who needed to come apart, to spend time alone with God and their families.

Later
I had a dream of sabbaticals, for pastors and churches to rediscover their call and to refocus on pleasing God rather than the multitude of voices that pursued them.

Over the Years
I’ve experienced a lot of frustration, around dreams. I’ve come to the conclusion, or maybe better said, I think the dreams God gives us are glimpses. They’re glimpses of a reality God would like to see fulfilled, a reality He would like to create with us. Whether we see them fulfilled or we don’t, our pursuit of such dreams, is deeply pleasing to God who gave them.

Today
In most of the areas I`ve mentioned above I`m either `living the dream` or `in the pursuit. What about you?

Have you ever had a dream that you believed was from God?
Have you despaired of realizing it or do you remain ‘in the pursuit’?
Are you living the dream?

Posted on

What are your dreams?

Many years ago I dreamed of having a beautiful wife. Someone told me that such a dream was inconsistent with my other goals – that all of my other goals were highly altruistic while the dream of a totally beautiful wife – one who was as beautiful on the inside as on the outside, was selfish. After thirty two years of marriage, I’m glad I held out for my dream.

When I proposed to my wife she expressed her desire to travel and her concern that if she married me we’d never ‘go anywhere’. Since that time we’ve visited California, Hong Kong, Barbados, Grenada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Iri Anjira, and Hawaii. For a year we lived in main land China. I’m glad I caught hold of her dream.

For years I dreamed of quitting my day job to travel around the world, come alongside Christian leaders and speak into their lives. Three and a half years ago I did exactly that. I ‘jumped into the sea’ as they say in China. Since that time I’ve been having a ball. So glad I decided to ‘go for the dream’.

Do you have a dream? If you do I’d love to hear about. To see you live the ‘Maximum Impact Life’ you’ve always dreamed about.

Posted on

Going Around in Circles?

According to Impact Canada www.impactcanada.org 80% of Canadian churches are either plateaued, declining or disintegrating.

Such statistics are alarming but perhaps not surprising.

– How many boring church business meetings have you attended?
– How many board meetings seem to cover the same ground over and over again.
– Despite all of your hard work, is your ministry taking new ground for God?

The statistics would say that most Canadian churches are going around in circles. The nation of Israel spent 40 years going in circles because of her sin. Is the problem in the 21st century church sin?

The more I work with the church, (27 years as a lead pastor, the last three as a Coach and Catylist)  the more I get the impression most churches don’t know where they’re going. They’re busy and they’re frustrated. Mostly they’re just tired of  going  around in circles, not getting anyplace. With the number of people willing to devote themselves to the endeavour declining all the time.

Have we confused busyness with effective ministry?
What’s the solution?

Would love to hear what you think?

Posted on

Living or Lying?

I love Gary R Collins blog People Builders. In his latest issue Gary talks about athletes feel pressured to perform. Obviously its not only athletes that feel this pressure.

The pressure to perform is real and for many of us it comes from within.

As Christian leaders, some of us misinterpret Paul’s declaration that he could do all things through Christ’s strength to state that we can do everything. We commit and commit until overwhelmed. Then we come back to Jesus’ declaration that he had come to so that we could have life. We recognize that racing from commitment to commitment isn’t life and pull ourselves out from under, only to start again.

Its exhausting, overwhelming and discouraging.

We could call it sin, in the sense that everything bad is sin but I wonder if it isn’t more personality based. Who shall deliver me from this ‘type A’?? personality?

Do you feel constant pressure to perform?
I’d love to hear how you deal with it?