This is the second of two articles I was asked to contribute to a series of seven articles about why some churches die. At the end of the article will be a link to this entry where you can also find the other articles in the series. The joke landed well in a room of 300-plus denominational leaders and pastors. The laughter sparked numerous spontaneous testimonies and anecdotes – that apparently needed to be shared immediately. It took a minute to get the room back to the speaker. What was th…

This is the first of two articles I was asked to contribute to a series of seven articles about why some churches die. At the end of the article will be a link to this entry where you can also find the other articles in the series. The lights came on that day in eighth-grade Physical Science class. Our teacher/coach/driver’s ed instructor pushed a chalkboard eraser along the edge of his teaching desk. He was dangerously close to making it fall over the edge. “I know it’s hard to see, but the…

The following is an excerpt of “Doing More together” which is a free resource available to you through The Rural Pastor Podcast. Principle #1: Bible preaching, relationships and vision are the holy trifecta of a healthy church. Too many times we look for some secret sauce, like those late-night television commercials that promise you can lose weight, change your financial future, or make a bass boat out of duct tape. The problem is, they’re almost never the truth. This first principle is ac…

Thank you to the rural church pastor. I am one of you, and I want to thank you for some things most people would not understand Thank you for the fact that holiday weekends are more weekend to you than holiday, and a weekend means a Sunday when you will be ready. Thank you for the countless times others’ emergencies have become your emergencies because pastoring is a 24/7 calling. Thank you for missing football games and naps to make time for sermon prep.  Thank you for working the “other job…

This is Andy Addis speaking here. I want to share with you a letter sent to pastors from a friend and mentor who is the Associational Mission Strategist of the Heart Of Kansas Southern Baptist Association. Glenn Davis is a treasure to me, and I hope this letter is a treasure to you. Father, On this occasion of Pastor Appreciation Month, I come to You to pray for the men who lead churches across this association. Heavenly Father, I come to You because You are good, and You are gracious.  Your…

The following is an excerpt from the introduction of  “Doing More Together” which you can download in its entirety on the resource page resource page! His old late ‘90s pickup rolled up in front of their house and seemed to settle into place with familiar creaks in the suspension and pops of gravel still stuck between the treads from the dirt road that brought him home. After he turned off the ignition, he sat for a moment, enjoying the quiet. A couple of bicycles littered the front yard, ex…

Let me begin with an understatement: preaching is hard. We love it, we’re called to it, but every time we stand in the pulpit, we expose a little bit of our soul and stick our neck out. Preaching is hard. One of the many reasons preaching is challenging is the different kinds of ears receiving the message. I’ve always found it amazing how the same message can affect individuals in the same congregation entirely differently. After a recent message, I received several pats on the back from mem…

We’ve all been there. Flipping through the channels on a sleepless night, attempting to drown out all the thoughts with senseless infomercials. And, for a moment, we might even be tempted to give in: Maybe that’s all you need to do to lose weight. I wonder if that stuff could flex enough to seal the baptistry? A panini would be good right now. Yes! I am finally getting those washboard abs. But, long before dawn, you come to your senses and realize there are no easy fixes or one size fits al…

I write this open letter to church planters because of the importance of the work you do, because I have a heart for pioneers and risk-takers, and because I pastor a church that believes in church planting and lives it. But, the truth is this letter is for pastors, leaders, and believers of all stripes. This is a dark world, and times are (to use the nicest term I can think of) precarious. These indeed are days when people have started to call good things evil and evil things good. Doing the …

Do you ever just say stuff? You know, those moments when your mouth gets away from you and somewhere behind your eyes, your good ol’ pal, the brain is screaming, “What are you talking about?” Let’s consider a couple of examples: Someone asks you to run the school fundraiser even though your kids graduated last year, and before you think it through, your mouth pops off with a confident, “Sure!” Someone at church asks if you’re ready for the presentation tomorrow and even though you don’t have …