The Rural Think Tank
…It's Different Out Here.
The Untapped Creative Potential in Your Church Every church has them. The artist who sketches in the margins of the bulletin. The musician who plays in a band on Saturday night but never on Sunday morning. The writer who journals but has never shared their words. These are the creatives. And in most rural churches, …
Are You the Quarterback or the Coach? Most pastors see themselves as the quarterback. They call the plays. They execute the strategy. They are the ones who do the ministry. But what if the pastor’s primary role is not to be the quarterback? What if it is to be the coach? The Difference A quarterback …
This is an unscheduled Bonus episode this week that is a little longer form than the typical episode. This is because it is packed with two topics that deeply affect rural ministry – Demographics and the “Rural Brain Drain”. I also throw out a “What If” scenario for rural communities to combat the talent drain …
This post was originally published on my other blog, MinistryPlace.net “Why do we do this ministry every year?” “Well…kinda because we’ve always been the ones to do It?….” We have all had that conversation in our churches. There seems to be that one ministry in every church that is a sacred cow that happens every year only because it …
This post was originally published on MinistryPlace.net. What a shoe store can teach the church Sometimes you learn life lessons in the strangest places. I learned a lesson about church consulting at a Red Wing Shoe Store. There are some high standards for selling shoes that have the Red Wing logo. And those standards have …
Isaiah 60:1-7 The Future Glory of Israel 1 [b] Arise, shine, for your light has come,and [c] the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,and thick darkness the peoples;but the Lord will arise upon you,and his glory will be seen upon you.3 [d] And nations shall come to your light,and kings to the brightness of your rising.4 [e] Lift up your eyes all around, and see;they all gather together, they come …
This post was originally published on my other blog, MinistryPlace.net I know, I used a buzzword. Whether you are in Church Growth, Business, Marketing, SEO, or Fantasy Sports, the word “Metrics” carrries a heavy connotation. Its one of measuring and evaluting everything for the sake of making things better. In a lot of rural churches, this would be a …
When the Foundation Needs Repair Hebrews 12:1-4 — “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our …
This post was originally published on my other blog, MinistryPlace.Net Numbers 13:31-33 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had …
Lessons from a windmill field In my workshop at the 2018 RHMA conference, one of the examples I gave for the need to network for ministry in your community is a windmill field. There are some lessons we can take from these pieces of wonderful technology as churches. They have a purpose that is simple …