Elsabeth “Ellie” Black may be Canada’s best female gymnast. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She won gold on the balance beam at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and gold in the all-around, balance beam and floor exercises at the…
I Have A Dream
On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered one of the most powerful speeches in the history of the world. The occasion was part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom that became one of the critical…
What Is Normal?
I have spent the past ten days doing what I love to do: holding conversations with pastors and other church leaders on the subject of the small church. I have been to Winnipeg in Manitoba and to Churchbridge, Saskatoon, Milestone…
. The Refugee Crisis
I am writing this blog entry in the pastor’s office at City Church in Winnipeg. Tim Nielsen, the pastor of City Church and a good friend, is sitting at the other desk listening online to a video on the current…
The Relationship Between Patience and Change
One of the tensions that exists in all churches is the fact that there are things that need to be changed on the one hand and people who hate change on the other. In any group of people, studies have…
The Relationship Between Patience and Trust
Building trust takes time. There are no shortcuts. There are no quick fixes. It just takes time and time means that we must have patience. The Importance of Trust In the midst of a conversation with another pastor, he…
Patience in Small-Church Ministry
Several years ago I met with a young pastor who was becoming increasingly frustrated with the church in which he served. He wanted them to make changes and they were moving much slower than he thought that they should move.…
Conflict: Good or Bad
In a Defining Moments session, Bill Hybels was asked if he thought that there was too much conflict in churches. His answer caught my attention in that he stated something that I have been feeling for quite some time. His…
Defining The Healthy Church
I have often stated that healthy churches come in all sizes. There are healthy large churches, healthy medium sized churches, healthy mega-churches and, last but certainly not least, healthy small churches. My concern for churches isn’t their size. It’s their…
A Vision to Die For
Right at the beginning of this entry I need to make a confession. I stole the title from someone else! I am in the midst of a trip to the Atlantic region which has meant that I have spent a…