2 Reasons Why It Was Time to "Get Off the Bus"   9/6/10

Worship folks talk about their personal scenarios in churches in transition.

What makes groups grow, part 6  9/6/10

What one thing trumps all others in predicting the growth of a group?

Make Your Group Grow, part 5  8/28/10

Read all the research in my new book, Make Your Group Grow
www.joshhunt.com 

9 Crumbling Evangelical Worship Habits   8/27/10

What seems to be replacing them?

Is It Better to Be Loved or Feared? Three Lessons from Machiavelli for Church Leaders  8/26/10

Do you want to be loved as a leader? Machiavelli said it was better to be feared than loved. Even for church leaders, there's something in what he said.

A new look at Nehemiah's wall  8/24/10

The ancient story of wall-building teaches three fresh principles about protecting core and culture.

The Mindset of the Class of 2014  8/23/10

First-year students are descending on college campuses prepared to dive into courses taught by wise and all-knowing faculty who may be ten or even 50 years their senior …

Make Your Group Grow, part 4  8/23/10

Make Your Group Grow was released June 4 by Group publishers. Here are a few of the findings of surveying 1000 group leaders. 

Make Your Group Grow, part 3  8/21/10

Groups that have lots of parties and lots of people helping with the parties are lots more likely to be growing. 

3 Guys: Shadrack, Meshack, and Get Me Outta Here!  8/21/10

Fiery furnaces or a den full of lions—leadership is tough!

Seven mistakes in ministry  8/20/10

A recent conversation with my wife about our years together caused me to reflect on my time as a senior pastor. I realized I had made many mistakes, both personally and …

Ten Tips for Church Leaders on Money and Values  8/20/10

Here are ten tips for church leaders on money and values.

Make Your Group Grow, Part 2  8/13/10

I surveyed 1000 Sunday School leaders to find out what makes groups grow. Here are the results -- excerpt from my new book, Make Your Group Grow

Gil's 7 Team Coaching Tips  8/12/10

Need a few good ideas on team building and getting better results? Consider these seven ideas.

Is Health Possible in Church Ministry?  8/12/10

Can we live healthier lives as church leaders? Ministry is a stressful line of work. The constant pressurel can keep us from taking care of ourselves, physically …

How Good is Your "To Be" List  8/11/10

Over the years I have taught that it is more important to have a "to be" list than a "to do" list. A "to be" list is a list of people you are mentoring to be more than …

3 Excuses for Boring Worship Services  8/11/10

Yeah, like you've never used one of these...

A Missional Approach to Sports  8/10/10

More and more churches are reporting to me they are having conflicts over the sports schedule and the churches schedule. This has been a growing problem since the …

Make Your Group Grow, Part 1  8/10/10

I surveyed 1000 Small group leaders to find out what the growing ones have in common. 

Don't worry about building culture  8/9/10

Think you need to build a culture of success before you actually succeed? Think again.

Use stories like this when you teach  8/9/10

Matthew 13:34 (NLT) 34 Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables …

Why church guests return  8/6/10

People visit a specific church for such reasons as size, location or personal invitation. Yet, research shows there are three primary reasons guests return: doctrinal …

Email your group this week and. . .   8/6/10

Stay connected with your group with a weekly email anticipating this week's sermon or lesson …

Is Helping Overrated?  8/6/10

Many of us in ministry see helping as a big part of our job description. And everyone needs help at times -- but sometimes helping can get in the way of growth.

Why Pastors Should Know what Everyone Gives  7/30/10

Recently I have been asked by a couple of people why the pastor should know what everyone gives. As one person said, "Doesn't that cause you to play favorites …

4 "No-No Words" in Worship  7/29/10

...or, at least I'm not hearing them as often

Top Priority for Great Commission Collaboration  7/29/10

Five factors are essential for starting a collaborative kingdom oriented initiative. One stands above the rest …

Four Things Church Leaders Can Learn about Reinvention from Tony Bennett  7/29/10

Are you feeling the need to reinvent yourself in ministry? Singer Tony Bennett's experience offers four ways church leaders can revive and renew themselves.

Gen-X Response to Rainer's Five Trends  7/27/10

I thought I might offer a Gen-X sort of response to Thom’s earlier Five Major Trends for Churches in America.

Five major trends for churches in America  7/23/10

Predicting the future can be risky, a process that can be compared to forecasting the weather. Still, research shows there are potential developments in the Boomer and …

What Do You Do with Your Money?  7/23/10

Church leaders need to pay attention to their own personal finances. If we can be thoughtful about personal money management, it will help our leadership in …

Build an Army of Prophets  7/20/10

A chapter excerpted from Leading from the Lions' Den: Leadership Principles from Every Book of the Bible (B&H, 2010).

5 Commitments for Integrity  7/19/10

As leaders, we cannot impart that which we do not possess. We cannot expect integrity from colleagues, subordinates, friends or family members, if our lives are not …

25 Years of Being a "Secret Shopper Worshiper"  7/18/10

10 easily corrected things I found...is this your church?

Five Lessons for Church Leaders from Indiana Jones  7/14/10

Church leaders can find help in crisis and challenge from Raiders of the Lost Ark's hero Indiana Jones. Here are five lessons to learn.

How Millennials view the community  7/9/10

Churches can learn much from the younger generation known as the Millennials. They believe in serving and loving their communities as natural elements of their Christian …

3 Ways to Have an Ideal Working Relationship with a Senior Pastor  7/8/10

A worship guy's longevity in the church and how it was negotiated...

3 Ways Tithing Makes for Complicated Giving  7/7/10

There are many ways to encourage generous giving; and, frankly, the tithe may be the most complicated.

A Desire for Christian Stewardship  7/5/10

In order for Christian stewardship to take root, we must have a desire in our hearts for those things that we have been taught in our heads.

10 Tips for Learning in Ministry  7/3/10

The best church leaders are learners. Here are ten tips for learning, at church and outside of church.

Is Nothing Sacred Anymore?  7/1/10

Has our culture loss all sense of decency when it comes to crimes against churches?

How to lead through stories  6/29/10

Stories are a simple tool to inspire people without going to great lengths and expense.

6 Things That Will Capture and Hold On to Your Worship Attendees  6/28/10

David Crowder teaches us about worship engagement...

Passion and Perseverance: Lessons from the Great One  6/26/10

Can you think of anything more exciting than to have the privilege of leading? If our goal is to impact others for the sake of eternity can there be anything more …

The friendliness factor  6/25/10

Many churches believe they are friendly, when the opposite may be true. Genuine friendliness flows from an evangelistic heart, one excited about Christ's love. The …

The Guns in Church Debate  6/23/10

It has long been common for churches to employ off-duty police officers to help with parking lot security and direct traffic. But shootings inside churches around the …

How to Survive Downsizing and Termination  6/19/10

What do you do next when you are terminated, pushed out, or downsized?

Gentrification and the Church  6/19/10

As a result of urban renewal, many poor, many non-whites, and many un-churched people are being pushed out.

Is Your Church Facing Financial Decisions?  6/17/10

Making decisions involving money can be a challenge for church leaders. Here are some questions that might be useful as you consider your decision-making process

The 4 Seasons of Worship  6/15/10

A whole year of worship in one hour!