As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“This annual church legal checklist is designed to help church leaders identify governance weaknesses, compliance gaps, and emerging legal risks before they escalate.” - C.Leaders
“This debate has gone on for years. … Here are some of the arguments I’ve heard on both sides.” - Chuck Lawless
“the average member of my church (and I’d assume other churches as well) does not have a good idea of what an administrative pastor actually does…. At the end of the day, good administration is necessary for a healthy church.” - 9 Marks
By Marshall Fant III
As ministers of the Gospel, it’s natural that we would want to preserve and revitalize the institutions that have accomplished God’s work in the past. But what do we do when we realize that a church has lost its effectiveness, and efforts to revitalize have failed? Should a church like that be kept alive at all cost?
“There’s a perception that, as church leaders, we cannot take much from the secular business world and apply it to the church. In fact, many people often object to using business practices in the church.” - Ed Stetzer
This is an adaptation of a sermon I preached this past Sunday. Like many churches, ours struggles with feelings of “failure” because we aren’t a large church. I often preach a sermon like this every year or so to remind the congregation about biblical metrcis for understanding what a “healthy church” really is.
Read the series.
I mentioned Gary Blessman in the first article in this series. Gary is the Vice President of Institutional Finances1 at Central Seminary and the Business Administrator2 at Fourth Baptist Church and Christian Schools.
Read Part 1.
I’m somewhat familiar with “where Minnesota golf was born,“ because the Minnesota Mayflower Society where I serve as a board member has our annual Thanksgiving banquet at the storied Town and Country Club in Saint Paul.
Through an unusual set of circumstances, I am now the treasurer of a church that I was barely acquainted with one year ago.
A year ago, I was 2 months past 39 radiation treatments for cancer and my cancer doctor gave me the news that the regimen was apparently successful. As an aside, doctors never commit to the word “cured.” But so far so good! My pastor commented to me, “I guess God is not finished with you yet!”
My wife and I began to pray, what would God have me to do with my retirement time?
Discussion