December 9, 2007 a gunman entered New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO, and killed two people in a shooting spree.Five months prior pastor Brady Boyd says he was enjoying a simple life in Dallas, TX where he was on staff at Gateway Church, “relishing the warmth of summertime,” he says in his new book, Fear No Evil: A Test of Faith, A Courageous Church, and an Unfailing God (Zondervan, 2011). He was the new senior pastor, taking over in the pastorate of Ted Haggard. He speaks unguardedly about the tragedy of that Sunday, but also of the following Wednesday when the congregation would grieve and try to find meaning in the senseless act. Calling it “Bloody Sunday,” Boyd also writes in his book: “Sunday wouldn’t define us, though, because three days later Wednesday arrived. And although I didn’t know it at the time, Wednesday would be our church’s opportunity to say to ourselves, our God, and anyone else who happened to be listening that we refused to be defined by tragedy and that hope was still ours to claim.”

Read More >

Church and food have a way of going together that hasn’t diminished in more than 2,000 years. Most larger and megachurches have food services that are seen as a part of ministry and outreach, staff have been hired to give professional supervision to food preparation and events in the life of the congregation where food is an indispensable part of fellowship, and for many churches the function breaks even or it might even be a small profit center. “Jesus himself ministered at the wedding celebration, on the shores of Galilee where he and 12 volunteers and one boy fed several thousand on at least a couple of occasions,” says Marcus White, director of food service ministry at First Baptist Orlando. “He witnessed around a table with sinners and with friends and family. Not the least of which was in the upper room for the Lord’s final supper.”

Read More >

Sherwood Baptist Church is located in the Southwest Georgia town of Albany, three hours south of Atlanta and one hour north of the Florida state line. One might recognize this church as the home of Sherwood Pictures, which has released the films Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Fireproof, and Courageous, which will be released this fall. But the ministries of Sherwood stretch further than just the movies. One of the ways it reaches its community is through the ministry of Legacy Park. Legacy Park was purchased in 2003 to be developed as an 82-acre sport park complex dedicated to reaching out to the people of Albany and surrounding areas.

Read More >

There are more than 3,000 multisite churches across North America. Everyone has a unique church-print. There is no “one size fits all” formula they all follow, but all will wrestle with the same basic issues. This eBook is a compilation of my 15 years of experience as a multisite pioneer and consultant. It addresses those common issues with hard-earned insights from being in the trenches with those who are doing it. It is for church leaders who are considering multisite and refresher for those who are already in the game.

Read More >

Three recent books examine church attendance trends and confirm Willow Creek’s Reveal study. The church’s failure to make disciples is growing worse each year. Based on current statistics, George Barna’s book, Revolution, predicts that by 2025 only 30 percent of those seeking ways to experience church will do so in what is now the traditional congregational form of church. Many of those opting out are “post-congregational,” that is, while they no longer go to church, they still have church with friends and family in an intimate setting.

Read More >

I was tired, bone tired, more weary of soul than I wanted to admit. The challenges of life and ministry had taken their toll: A major building project, the decision to let a much loved ministry partner go, my beloved wife diagnosed with cancer. Fortunately I pastor a church that loves me and not just in words, but deeds. So they sent me on a three-month sabbatical with enough money to get away and get the help I needed. That help came in the form of a ministry called Pastors on Point. If you go to their website you will find the phrase, “taking Pastors ‘out of their element’ and ‘into their essence,’” which sounds a bit corny. But corny or not, it worked for me. Three gifted men took seven pastors and four lamas up into the Colorado wilderness to rediscover God’s calling on our lives and, thankfully, I was one of them.

Read More >

Fraud targeting Christians is an epidemic. Of the $40 billion that Americans lose to investment fraud every year, fraud against the faithful accounts for as much as $1 billion of it. Antiquated notions of why churches fall victim to fraud are at least partially responsible for the epidemic. Old adages like, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” are not only useless as protection against fraud, but also dangerous. Church executives concerned with sound financial stewardship and protecting the flock must reach beyond trite axioms. In this post-Madoff world, where scam artists are smarter and their schemes harder to spot, church leaders must adopt a pro-active, 21st century approach to protecting their church.

Read More >

Speak the name of Peter Steinke and what comes to mind immediately is his respected position in church life as a congregational systems consultant who has been a pastor, educator and therapist for clergy. His interest and work have been in helping congregations become healthy and vital. In 2006, he published the book How Your Church Family Works: Understanding Congregations as Emotional Systems (Alban Institute) and earlier Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach.

Read More >

Carva White possessed an unheavenly urge to convert his burned-up church’s ash to cash.

White was the music director at the Sunflower Missionary Baptist Church in Leavenworth, KS. He convinced the head pastor to help hatch a devilish plot: torch the place, fool insurers into paying for repairs, then extract large bribes from contractors who would submit inflated bills for the work.

Pulpit-poisoning insurance schemes by unholy holy men and women such as White are rare. But ministering to insurance fraud does happen, leaving trails of betrayed parishioners, fleeced churches, stolen insurance money and ruined reputations.

Preachers appear to rarely defraud their insurers and worshipers. There’s no known data on the frequency or severity of insurance crimes ministered by ministers, but devilish insurance cons do happen.

Insurance schemes by ministers exact a large toll on congregations who are betrayed by spiritual leaders in a high position of trust. Worshippers’ spiritual and personal lives are disrupted. They’re forced to piece together a damaged congregation when a church burns or the minister suddenly leaves after being exposed as an unholy insurance crook. Sometimes worshippers or bystanders themselves are fleeced out of thousands of dollars. White’s first fire came up short. It caused $20,000 to $30,000 in damage, which wouldn’t soak enough bribe money from contractors, White quickly decided. So he told head pastor Marvin Clay that he’d reload his matches and ignite a bigger blaze to line their pockets with more cash.

Read More >