Have you ever walked into a new place and felt two things at the same time; hopeful and uncomfortable? It happened to me not long ago when I visited a church that had asked for our input on how they were doing. I didn’t tell anyone I was coming. No red carpet. No heads-up to…

“I wish you still did creative work…” Someone said this to me recently, and I was honestly caught off guard. Because…we never stopped. That comment revealed something important: we hadn’t clearly communicated what we still do. Let me take you behind the scenes a bit. For a long time, Keenly functioned as a creative agency doing…

We’ve been told this before: “It’s not about you.”And to be honest, there’s some truth in that. Ministry is, at its core, about the transformative work of Jesus, the big story of redemption, grace, and new life. We’re not the hero of that story, and we shouldn’t try to be. The Bible has plenty to…

The other day, I was in a store and saw a T-shirt that said, “I speak fluent sarcasm.” For a second, I thought about buying it. Then I realized that maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t the best look for someone in ministry. Sarcasm is one of those things that can be wildly helpful or wildly…

Wow, that’s a strong question. But sometimes, strong questions are exactly what we need to ask. As ministry leaders, we are surrounded by messages. Faith-based initiatives tell us things, and we believe them. But are those messages true? We’d like to think so. Yet, every so often, we turn on the news and find that…

Most churches talk about getting new people to come to church. In fact, many churches set goals for visitor attendance, promote invitation Sundays, and encourage their congregation to invite friends and neighbors. Yet, while these efforts are common, the approach often falls into the trap of transactional thinking, measuring success solely by attendance numbers rather…

When I was young in ministry, I had never really gone through any leadership training. We didn’t have any structured development embedded into our church because we were such a new church plant. So, I decided to seek out someone who could help me better understand leadership strategies and principles. I developed a friendship with…

You know that feeling when you’ve been walking around all day with something everyone else can see about you, but you have no idea about it yourself? Like a “kick me” sign on your back in high school. Or forgetting to remove the sales tag on a new pair of pants. You’ve been walking around…