NEW! The Ultimate Resource List for Intentional Pastors

The responsibilities of a pastor are wide-ranging. In this Ultimate Resource List for Intentional Pastors, you'll find tools to help you do ministry, lead the church intentionally, and be more productive.

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The Last Two Leadership Lessons You Need as a Pastor leadership

It was a beautiful summer day. The U-Haul truck was fully loaded and I was backing it down the long, steep, Price Hill, Cincinnati Driveway onto the road below. That was until the truck came to a loud, grinding halt.

Instead of backing onto the road, I had backed that 26-foot U-Haul truck into...

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How to Use Tension in Your Sermon (Workshop) preaching


If you want people to pay more attention to your next sermon, get better at using tension. In this video, we are going to walk through five different biblical passages and I'll show you some tension points in each.

Get your free copy of my 10-Step Guide to Writing a Sticky Sermon: ...

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How to Preach to the Heart and Change Lives preaching

Meet Lawrence. He’s a dad of four young kids. He and his wife, Stacy live in the town you preach in. By all typical measures, they’re living a good life. They have some financial margin. They prioritize their marriage. They are connected to their family. And they have a good friend...

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Pastoral Well-Being Plummeting? Research Shows Concerning Data leadership

Barna recently showed research they did in 2015 and in 2022 where they compared pastoral well-being (and compared the two timeframes).

And the results are... concerning. In this video, we look at their findings and consider 3 things pastors can do to guard against their well-being sliding toward...

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Is Your Church Stuck? 7 Characteristics of Highly Intentional Churches

As we approach the halfway mark of 2023, the disruption of the last few years is still rippling. The congregation you led three and a half years ago is likely quite different from the congregation you’re leading today—even if it has the same name.

You may even be sensing that your...

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3 Resources to Increase Biblical Engagement in Your Church leadership

I’ve not met another pastor who isn’t interested in helping more people read the Bible more. Every fellow minister I talk to would love to increase biblical engagement in their church. 

And I’m in that same boat. So over the last few years, I’ve set out to resource my...

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6 Pillars of Strong Sermon Preparation preaching

It’s one thing to prepare a single good sermon. It was a good week. You felt refreshed. And your preparation flowed. But what about doing that week in and week out? That can be far more difficult.

Luckily, consistently strong sermon preparation consists of some key pillars and when you...

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Preaching Style: Are You Pastor or Prophet in the Pulpit? preaching

Every preacher has their own personality and their own wiring. And depending on what that is, they may gravitate toward being more of a pastor in the pulpit or more of a prophet in the pulpit.

So which are you?

Preaching Style: The Pastor

The pastor is the shepherd. The guide. 

The pastor in...

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How to Deal With Difficult People in Your Church (Without Exploding) leadership

Every church has its share of difficult people. 

They’re the people who are perpetually dismissive or resistant to what seems like everything you and your team attempt to do. 

But you have to hand it to them—they’re consistent. Consistently critical and dissatisfied...

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Will it Preach? 7 Questions to Ensure Your Sermon is Absolutely Ready preaching

You get to the end of a good week. You finished writing the sermon for Sunday. But the question is, will it preach? 

It’s penned but will it proclaim? It’s typed but will it talk? Better yet, will it walk?

You and I have both gotten to this point many times. You finish writing...

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3 Warning Signs Your Sermon Isn’t Connecting (That You Might Not Be Expecting) preaching

Some sermons connect and some don't. That's true for all of us. But sometimes not connecting in our preaching can go from every now and again to becoming a trend.

So let's talk about it.

We spend hours upon hours in sermon prep and sermon writing. And then we get to the preaching moment and what...

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Top 10 Mistakes Preachers Make in Sermon Preparation preaching

Sunday has a tendency show up quickly. Your sermon preparation can either set you up well for when Sunday rolls around or hinder you tremendously. 

How you spend your time Monday through Saturday greatly influences the sermon you preach on Sunday. You and I know this from experience. 

...

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