It only took about 30 years and a movie from 1941 called One Foot In Heaven starring Fredric March (Pastor/Dr. Spence) to help me understand the phrase, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” The story is about the life and trials of a Methodist preacher and his family through 3-4 churches.…
Church (capital C) is, as the bible describes, a body. It’s not just any body, it’s the Body of Christ. The church (small c) is a system, still a body or collection of believers, but like a real body it is also a system. It’s a system of relationships, of politics and of power. This…
“Oh, that’s gonna be good” “Man, that’s a awesome quote” “This illustration is gonna kill” I’ve said or though all of these things and you probably have too, with mixed results. It’s easy to get hype during sermon prep. As I’m creating/designing a message I can sense what the Lord wants to do, what He…
When difficult things are happening in our world it can be awkward or even scary to want to bring it up with our group for fear that that the discussion will get heated or out of control. If you are hesitant to bring up what is happening in Los Angeles, it may be because you…
It’s my premise, that mediocrity feeds into the short tenure cycle of youth pastors. Be it because the youth pastor does not bring excellence with them into the position and they are exposed or because the youth pastor does not or cannot pursue excellence quick enough. Mediocre youth pastors never last—not because they’re bad people,…
This conversation is with Raymond Chang, co-author of Future Focused Church, and Raymond offers pastors and youth pastors so much hope for the future. Enjoy. Paul TurnerRaymond, welcome to the show. Raymond ChangThank you. It’s great to be with you, Paul. Man, I’m excited. Paul TurnerI’ll just say first off that what we’re going to…
I recently had one of my Youtube channel’s subscribers ask a question about discipline “How would you handle more serious youth group issues? Where is the line when you remove them from group permanently? How do you talk to the parents of extremely challenging students? Examples: Kids bringing illegal substances or weapons to group, …
I am not a huge basketball fan, but I do try to catch the play offs. At best I’ve been a lukewarm Knicks fan for the past 25 years, can you blame me? Back in the day, when Michael Jordon was playing, I was big for the Knicks. We’d have people over and watch the…
I have a former student who loves to go to Trivia Nights at their local restaurant. They gather a team, compete for an hour or so and the winner gets a trophy. This former students’ team must be really good because I see them post their trophies quite frequently. Trivia games are a way to…
I know the why pastors fall: weakness. Weakness of heart, conviction and integrity. WHY pastors fall is what fascinates me. The tactics are different but they all share the same goal, deception. The story I am going to share with you today is all about deception and a little weird. How much can I get…
