I received a lot of positive feedback on last week's post about a pastor who admitted his need for physical rest, spiritual renewal and relational retooling. One of the most insightful responses came from a different pastor's wife, who described how both she and her...
Do You Know a Bruised Reed?
It takes a great deal of humility, wisdom and courage for a popular pastor to admit that he is a “bruised reed” in desperate need of physical rest, spiritual renewal and relational retooling. That’s exactly what my friend Rankin Wilbourne did last Sunday … which...
Blind Optimism Can Be Dangerous
Churches and ministries (as well as married couples) could learn a vital lesson from the U.S. State Department. Chip Zimmer, our ministry’s Vice President, worked for the State Department from 1990-2001, serving in diplomatic posts in Africa and Latin America. In...
Reformed Theological Seminary: RW for Pastors
Dr. Don Sweeting, President of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, and Ken Sande, President of RW360, discuss the importance of church leaders developing biblically-grounded, gospel-driven relational skills. The Church Needs Relational Leaders - Reformed...
Relationally Wise Pastoral Care
One of the greatest blessings of my recent time in South Africa was seeing how quickly people were applying relational wisdom to vital life issues, such as social injustice, racism, family disintegration, church leadership and evangelism. I was especially impressed by...
Four Elements of Effective Church Planning
Click Here For a Downloadable PDF File Any time we make plans that impact a group of people—whether it’s our church, ministry, business or even our family—we have the opportunity to deepen and enrich our relationships, both with God and the people around us. But this...
Five Ways RW Benefits Church Planters
I had the privilege of spending the last three days with 200 men and women who are passionate about planting churches in southern California. We gathered at a leadership conference sponsored by Acts 29, a global network of church-planting churches. Having served...
Approachability: The Passport to Real Ministry and Leadership
Craig was well-equipped for teaching God’s Word. He was committed to Christ, thoroughly educated, solid in his doctrine, well read, loved to study Scripture, and could preach outstanding sermons Sunday after Sunday. He also saw himself as a gifted pastor. He loved to...
Accountability: The Mark of a Wise and Protected Leader
Josh was slowly crumbling under a steady barrage of criticism. For a few weeks after he began as pastor, the people at his new church seemed friendly and supportive. But Josh soon discovered that many of them were perpetually dissatisfied. They constantly questioned...
Are You Relational or Informational?
Many pastors are much better at imparting information than they are at building relationships. They are comfortable in their studies. They love their books. They pride themselves on their sound doctrine. They come alive in the pulpit as they proclaim “the wisdom of...