What if Google took you behind the scenes and showed you the world’s most pressing questions? Would you pay attention? Of course, you would. Lucky for us, they have done just that. Google regularly allows us to pull back the curtain to see what questions the world is asking and what topics the world is…
Many pastors and churches like the theology of the Apostle Paul but not his drive and urgency. Let me explain before you get mad. The Drive of the Apostle Paul (and a Pastor) In many church circles, the Apostle Paul is held up as a theologian of theologians. In the reformed world, the book of…
Want to improve your preaching in 2018? Here’s one way to make it happen: preach your failures. Wait, what? To be a more successful preacher, I need to preach my failures? It sounds a little off, but it is absolutely true. When you preach your failures, people will open up to your messages in ways…
I love preaching in a series. I made this confession in a previous article and outlined some of the many benefits of preaching in a series. This raised a question by several readers: “I was wondering where you all come up with your sermon series ideas?” That is a great question! Here are three primary…
The preacher gets on the path to memorable preaching before and during the occasion of preaching. It happens in the preparation time and in the delivery time. But this isn’t about triple-checking your word studies or strenuously stressing over the wording of your main point. This is about something far deeper. What makes for preaching that is…
We all know that ministry is a full time job. Churches spend hours of their day planning for the week. A lot of the time children’s church gets put on the bottom of the planning schedule. Ministry Pass loves providing resources kid’s pastors and busy churches. We want to highlight 5 of the most use…
Youth Pastors are some of the busiest people. Ministry Pass loves helping youth leaders every week in their ministry. To end the year we want to highlight the most used youth resources of 2017. #5- Washed Starting off our list is a newer series with great graphics and videos, Washed been downloaded almost 571 times….
Ministry Pass is used by over a thousand churches. Our sermon series help pastors save time on the things that matter. We are blessed to be able to help and equip pastors with the resources they need to spread the gospel. We want to highlight the top 5 most downloaded sermon series of 2017. #5…
Leaders are readers. The same goes for preachers. The effective preachers I know are constantly trying to improve their craft by reading the best books on preaching and communication. If you’re a preacher, get these preaching books on your shelf and read them in 2018. The 2018 Effective Preacher’s Reading List Resonate: Present Visual Stories…
I started vocational ministry as an idealist. I was young; still a teenager, actually. I was naive, not understanding the harsh realities of church work. Now, 21 years later, I’m a grizzled veteran. I’ve seen the church at her best. I’ve seen the church at her worst. And I’ve come to realize that there are…
Christmas Eve (and the Christmas season in general) has surpassed Easter as the most likely time for first-time guests to visit our churches. We need to plan accordingly. Going through Advent this Christmas? Click here for everything you need to know about preaching an Advent Sermon Series. Here are five tips to help us all…
In a recent podcast interview, I was asked, “Why aren’t there more effective preachers in the mainline church?” My response was that one reason is lack of training. Most mainline seminaries only require one introductory preaching class to graduate with an M.Div. What’s worse is the typical preaching intro class is not very practical for…
It seems like everywhere you turn in the Christian world right now, someone is talking about the Enneagram. There are books, podcasts, and blogs popping up everywhere. I was first introduced to it two years ago as part of a leadership training I did with Katie through Crosspoint. If you aren’t familiar, here’s a helpful…
You want to reach the unchurched. At least I hope you do. Isn’t that why we got into this ministry gig in the first place? To love and reach people with the gospel? If that’s not what it’s about, then let’s just get out now. There have to be easier ways to make a living,…
I love preaching in a series. Like a new pair of socks, it just feels right. For nearly twelve years I have preached in a series (with an occasional “stand-alone” sprinkled in for fun!) and I cannot overstate the benefits. Here are four of many worth considering: 1. Preaching in a series reduces stress. Imagine…
For many years I have obsessed over studying great preaching and preachers. They are all different. All have their own unique style and approach to delivering a message. However, there are 7 characteristics that they all have in common. 1. Preach with Borrowed Authority The best preachers do not preach from their own authority, but…
Leadership is a battle, is it not? Not so much of a physical battle, as it is an emotional…and spiritual one! Every day we wake up to dozens of voices going off in our head about what we can do or can’t do and should or should not do. If we listen to the wrong…
Preaching works! If you didn’t believe that, you probably wouldn’t be reading this article. It’s effective. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to convict of sin, convince of truth and convert the heart. When I was growing up, people would make a “public profession of faith” before being baptized. While we don’t…
The Story Brent Sloan has been a member of Ministry Pass since the day we launched. We were humbled when he told us his story of going from pizza maker to pastor—and how Ministry Pass helped him make the jump. Check out Brent’s story in this video, and learn how Ministry Pass can help you…
Hopefully, you’re already thinking through your preaching calendar for next year. Part of shepherding a congregation toward long term health is offering a balanced diet from the pulpit. Your preaching over a twelve-month period should be pre-planned with certain factors built in. Before a new year begins, I try to identify eight to twelve series’…
Eye contact. It’s the most uncomfortable aspect of public speaking. Why? Because when we make eye contact with people, two things happen… We know a little bit more about what someone is thinking about what we’re saying. Our listeners know a little bit more about how we’re feeling about what we’re saying. And both can…
When big news happens, pastors usually start an internal dialogue about the coming Sunday’s message. Do I preach the message I’d planned on preaching? The one I had announced and slotted perfectly into our current series? The one I’ve already spent a couple of early mornings and late nights working on? Or do I preach…
Church metrics. That’s not a very pretty phrase. In fact, for many, it seems cold. If church becomes a numbers game, then people become “just a number,” and when people are just a number, we’ve failed to emulate the ministry of Jesus. But if we fail to count anybody, we allow people to slip through…
Pen and paper. The printing press. Radio. TV. The Internet. You know what all of these mediums have in common? Each one has been used to further the spread of the Gospel. Throughout history, messengers of the Gospel have used the tools available to them in an effort to effectively reach the people God has…
Jesus was definitely an iconoclast, continually challenging the conventional thinking of His day. Twenty different times Jesus said, “You’ve heard it said… but I say to you…” And even today, his thoughts on leadership go against the grain. Most modern books on leadership, whether Christian or secular, give the same advice – be confident, never admit fear,…
Laughter is good for the soul. Think back to a time when you and your friends or family burst into uncontrollable laughter. Aren’t these some of the best moments of your life? Laughter unites us. It reminds us that we are all imperfect. Plus it just feels good. There are some who argue that there…
I love being a Pastor. I’m passionate about preaching. I am humbled that God has called me to shepherd a flock of His choosing. And I especially love the fuel that fires me up – the Word of God and what it has to say about whom I am. One of my favorite passages on…
Effective preaching is more than just about what you say. It’s also about how you say it. Too many sermons fail not because of bad content, but because of bad delivery. Nobody how experienced you are, you should never stop learning. You should always be a student of sermon delivery because there is always room…
We live in a skeptical age. Fifty years ago, preachers didn’t have to work very hard convincing church goers to believe their message. Today, many of our listeners, especially millennials, question everything they hear. We can’t assume all of our listeners will be on board with us. We must first persuade listeners to believe in…
A revolutionary tool for building sermons The last few years leading Ministry Pass, we have noticed an opportunity to change the way sermons were written. 84% of pastors use Microsoft Word to build their messages. Technology has advanced in so many areas like Bible research and Bible reading but the way pastors build their sermons has…
I work with and talk with a ton of churches. The ones that struggle the most are the ones most isolated and living on an island, not paying attention to what’s going on around them. They have very few relationships with pastors and churches within or outside of their community. Churches that are growing, on…
Gideon is one of my favorite Bible heroes. In my wife’s Bible class curriculum, he’s known as “G. I. Deon!” I especially love the way he’s introduced… The way Gideon sees himself: Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. ~Judges 6:11 His further questioning of God’s choice of him shows…
Summer is here and that means lower attendance and decreased giving is looming for many churches. Most preachers aren’t too wild about summer (unless they’re on vacation!). School is out, vacations are planned, and there is a general feeling among some parishioners that it’s acceptable to ease up on their commitment to the church. Can…
You have heard the statistics: Eighty-five percent (or so) of churches are plateaued or declining. So many churches that were once flourishing aren’t now. The question is “Why?” How does this happen? How does a church lose its momentum? How can we keep it from happening to us? If it has happened, how do we…
Pastor, you set the tone and atmosphere in your congregation. If you want to know the warmth of your church, put the thermometer in your own mouth. I’ve visited some churches where the pastor’s lack of love is the main reason the church isn’t growing. Some pastors, by their cold demeanor and lack of personal…
Do you ever get that post-sermon, anti-climactic feeling that all of your research, all of your writing, all of your preparation just got burned up in a single half-hour shot? It would be far more ideal to leave church on Sunday believing there was still much to come of the results of your preaching, even…
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