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September 2015

September 01, 2015

I Never Ever Ever Thought I Would Have This Conversation At Church

I've had lots of strange conversations at church. People stopping me to tell me the...

August 2015

August 31, 2015

7 Steps to Becoming a Person of Hope

If you're ready to change your outlook on life and become a person of hope, here...

August 17, 2015

How to Stay Grounded When Heading Off to College

Last week I received a message from a former student with a great question about...

July 2015

July 03, 2015

The Church and Gay Marriage

Here is the full sermon responding to the Supreme Court's decision legalizing gay marriage in...

June 2015

June 29, 2015

7 Ways the Church Can Redeem the Supreme Court Decision Legalizing Gay Marriage

Gay marriage is here. Rather than long for the past or fear the future, how...

June 26, 2015

5 Ways to Recover the Boldness of the Early Church

Even a light read through the book of Acts reveals a church that's markedly different...

June 25, 2015

4 Great Things That Happen When a Church Plays Together Outside of Its Four Walls

Last night Mt Vernon finished MTV on Location, a four week break from our normal...

June 24, 2015

That Awkward Moment When Someone Cusses in Front of the Preacher . . . at Church

Curse words are common place in the world today, but there are a few mutually...

June 19, 2015

Trying to Make Sense of the Senselessness of the South Carolina Church Shooting

Unless you lived under a rock the past 48 hours, your news world has been...

June 17, 2015

7 Marks of a Spirit-Filled Church

What does it look like when the Holy Spirit shows up in power in a...

June 13, 2015

BIG Church #2 – Big Leadership

Watch the video below to catch week two in our series through the book of...

June 11, 2015

Repost: 10 Things the Church Puts Ahead of Reaching People

Yesterday this blog post just passed 250,000 page views, making it the most viewed blog...

June 10, 2015

Bucket Illustration of Why Some Churches Grow and Some Don't

Last week while talking through the importance of Acts 1 in the early church (when...

June 09, 2015

7 Reasons You Should Go on a Short-Term Mission Trip

Never been on a mission trip before? This time of year mission trips abound to...

June 04, 2015

3 Things That Will Keep Guests Coming Back to Your Church (Based on Actual Guest Surveys)

Rather than tell you how things should be, today I'll simply pass along how things...

May 2015

May 12, 2015

Wake Up Church! We Have a Problem!

Modern polling has confirmed what Christians have suspected for a long time: Christianity is losing...

May 07, 2015

5 Practices That Have Helped Me Succeed in Ministry

I would hope that sometime during the last 16 years of full-time ministry I've picked...

May 05, 2015

The BIGGEST Reason There Are So Many Hypocrites in the Church

Too many people have been scarred by hypocrisy in the church. Why are there so many...

May 04, 2015

Story of Hope: Jennifer

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a...

May 01, 2015

The #1 Thing That Drives People Away From Church

If you listened to seminaries, you might think the answer was the biblical faithfulness of...

April 2015

April 28, 2015

The Profoundly Simple Way To Blow a Church Guest's Mind (In a Good Way)

Sunday I was able to blow a church guest's mind. I love doing that! I...

April 11, 2015

Easter Message 2015: Step Into the Light

Here is the first sermon in our series started on Easter Sunday: Step Into the...

April 09, 2015

5 Ways the Church Should Be Like T-Ball Practice

This season I'm coaching my 5-year-old's t-ball team. We're still practicing and haven't started slugging...

April 08, 2015

Celebrate for Molly!

Can somebody give me a 'slow clap' for Molly? You don't know Molly, but God...

April 02, 2015

A Simple Way to Tell If Your Church is Alive

It has nothing to do with music. How many show up at Easter doesn't matter....

March 2015

March 31, 2015

The Not-So-Complicated Secret to Getting Guests Plugged Into Your Church

I could charge you $19.95 to give you a secret to church growth, or I...

March 30, 2015

10 (More) Things the Church Puts Ahead of Reaching People

A week ago I wrote a blog post titled 10 Things the Church Puts Ahead...

March 27, 2015

7 Things The Church Puts Ahead of Reaching People

On Monday I wrote a (surprisingly viral) blog post about 10 Things the Church Puts...

March 26, 2015

How One Church Changed to Reach People

Today I want to tell you the story of the church I have the privilege...

March 25, 2015

The Way Forward Past the 10 Things

I honestly didn't know Monday's post would strike such a chord with people (1000 Facebook...