7 Things Your Church Should Be Doing But Probably Isn't

I am a big fan of church. And I would like to see every church reach its full potential. The following are challenges, not just to church leaders and pastors, but also to church members. They are challenges to push your church to excel in these areas in order to be a better ambassador of the Gospel to the world.

Why ‘Eaters’ Must Turn into ‘Feeders’ and ‘Feeders’ Must Always be ‘Eaters’

In a church family there are three types of people. There are “eaters”, “feeders”, and those who are neither. An “eater” is someone who comes to church and church events ready to be fed. They are eager to learn, eager to grow, and ultimately desire to be guided along the way to a deeper, more mature relationship with God. This is the ideal new Christian or new church member. A “feeder” is someone who is involved in church and church events with the goal of ministering to others. They are there to “feed” eaters.

God's Challenge to the Extrovert

My wife and I got married and moved to a new town in the summer. The first few weeks in our new home were very slow, quiet, and filled with alone time. That probably sounds awesome to most couples, and it was. But it wasn’t always easy. We weren’t alone by choice. We had just moved to a new town and didn’t know anyone and weren’t apart of anything. My wife is a teacher so she didn’t start work until the fall and I didn’t start my job until after that. So for the first few weeks, we had nowhere to be and no one to see.

God's Challenge to the Introvert

If you are like me, you value your alone time. Though I am not naturally an introvert, I do often find myself enjoying time alone over time with others. That’s not a knock to any of my friends, it’s just the way I am. I imagine most people have been glad to be alone at least once. And that is ok. Alone time is great, even encouraged. In the Gospels, we see Jesus alone a lot. But a love of alone time doesn’t come without dangers.

A Call to Pray and Pray Well

This time of year marks the beginning a busy time for many. The next several months will be drenched in routine and schedules and the never-ending struggle of time management. And this is a good thing. This summer was the first summer in years in which I really had no routine or even much responsibility. And if there is one thing I discovered, it’s that man was designed to work.