At the most recent regional training day in St. Louis, Darrin Patrick spoke of developing and equipping leaders. It is a vital topic for church planters as they seek to build, multiply, and facilitate good leadership. Darrin spoke out of the books of first and second Timothy; books that were written to a scared young pastor and are a gold mine for planters wrestling with the task of being a leader. Read More
Category: Leadership
In light of the New Year I wanted to share some advice with fellow preachers. One of the best things a preacher can do to improve their preaching ministry is to plan out what they are going to preach at least a year in advance. This allows the preacher to begin their research and study well in advance so that when the week of a sermon arrives, they will be well on their way to speaking as God intends... Read More
Category: Leadership
In September, Mars Hill Church hosted the Resurgence/Acts 29 Network Fall Conference titled: Continuous Worship. Harold Best, Mark Driscoll and Tim Smith shared same great content in the area of worship in the church today. Read More
Category: Leadership
Darrin Patrick, Lead Pastor of The Journey and Vice President of the Acts 29 Network, spoke at the 2007 MissionalX Conference. Darrin's two sessions, "Dealing With Personal Idols"" and "Bringing the Gospel Into Culture" are now available. Read More
Category: Leadership
A quick Google search for the words “executive pastor” will mostly give you hits for available job postings and existing executive pastor (XP) bios. Dig a little deeper and you might come across the occasional article. The reality is that there just isn’t much out there for the guy who sits in the second chair pastoral role in his church. So XP’s are often left to reinvent the proverbial wheel. This does not have to be the case. Below you will find descriptions of five resources that no XP should be without. Read More
Category: Leadership
At our 2006 Reform and Resurge Conference in Seattle, my good friend Pastor Darrin Patrick from The Journey in Saint Louis spoke frankly of the burden that pastoral ministry is. He presented the following statistics... Read More
Category: Leadership
A godly leader must make great sacrifices to begin a new work. Starting a family comes at a great expense. Starting a business comes at a great expense and starting a church or ministry will only come at a great expense to the leader. Nehemiah led the Jewish people to rebuild the broken walls around Jerusalem. He secured financing and time off (12 years) from King Artaxerxes to lead the people to reverse the desecration they were experiencing since their return from the exile. After fighting the initial opposition by outsiders, Nehemiah addressed the oppression by insiders. God's people at that time experienced financial hardship due to high taxation and famine. Furthermore, the unrighteous rich were taking advantage of the righteous poor by charging high interest rates on loans and then taking their fields, vineyards, houses and even children as slaves when they defaulted on their debts. Even Nehemiah had succumbed to the temptation to increase his own wealth through unjust means. Read More
Category: Leadership
Leading a church or ministry is a tough assignment. It is even tougher if the leader does not have a compelling vision. Compelling, according to Dictionary.com is “to force or drive, especially to a course of action; to have a powerful and irresistible effect, influence, etc.” The vision of a leader must irresistibly force others to follow. How does a leader gain such a compelling vision? I offer ten suggestions: Read More
Category: Leadership
Nehemiah led the people of God to rebuild the devastated walls of Jerusalem in just 52 days in spite of opposition, ridicule and internal conflict. Nehemiah applied a principle in his life that is sometimes overlooked in our analysis of his leadership principles. What made him so effective and what can we learn from his response to the trouble that had overtaken the survivors of the exile? Read More
Category: Leadership
Prayer and worship can feel like a waste of time when items of business are pressing. Making worship a priority in your schedule will not only ensure there is time for worship; it will also begin to transform you as you guard your time with the Lord. If your own personal worship lacks depth and significance in your life, you will be unable to lead others into the presence of God. Read More
Category: Leadership
If Christianity is going to make a difference in the world, its leaders cannot just sit around waiting for the phone to ring and answering every e-mail complaint that hits the inbox. Leadership is not keeping everyone happy (that will never happen—especially for me). Leadership is not just gathering a bunch of mostly stubborn people together on Sunday. Rather, leadership is moving people in a passionate drive toward the mission of God. Nobody exemplified this better than Nehemiah. The Book of Nehemiah is not just about building a wall. It is about missional leadership—building a city within the city. It is a story about how God’s people worked to live as a countercultural kingdom amidst an opposing culture. It is an inspiring story of how church leaders today can lead with humble confidence to build a safe place to gather as a city within the city for the good of all. Nehemiah raises many missional leadership questions every Christian leader must seriously answer if they hope to build a city within the city. The following twenty questions are general principles. They will be most beneficial if used along with the reading of Nehemiah so that they can be specifically applied to actual ministry issues. Read More
Category: Leadership