Honest thinking
for leaders doing
hard ministry.

Picture this: You’re sitting in your office after a Sunday that looked “fine” on the outside. The service ran smoothly. People smiled, shook your hand, maybe even said, “Great message,…

Lately I’ve caught myself doing something I don’t usually do for very long. I’ll scroll a little more than I should, read a few more headlines than I need, listen…

Hey Pastor, As a pastor, I feel the pressure that the Easter can bring. It feels like the Superbowl of the church world, and you are carrying the pressure of…

Perspective is a funny thing. Sometimes it shows up when you are looking for it. Other times it shows up when you least expect it. In our work at Keenly,…

You ever have those weeks where you’re just absolutely running on empty? Like no amount of caffeine is fixing it, your to-do list keeps growing, and somehow you’re still saying…

Do you want to know what drives my wife crazy??? When I check my emails in the evenings, pulling out my phone and open my email app, when I should…

I have been blessed to serve in a church that has intentionally pursued partnerships with other churches, nonprofit organizations, and local community agencies in order to more effectively identify and…

This is technically take two. Not of writing, but of thinking out loud. What you’re reading started as a voice recording during my drive from Grand Canyon University to my…

I’ve been thinking lately about two imaginary restaurant owners. Not because I’m particularly interested in food, but because the contrast between them feels like a mirror for the way many…

Few things quietly undermine the health of a church more effectively than gossip. It rarely announces itself as destructive. More often, it arrives disguised as “concern,” “processing,” or “just wanting…

When I was blessed to come to the church that I currently serve in, the demographics of the church leaned heavily into an older age range. I looked around at…

Every pastor and ministry leader eventually wrestles with the same tension. -How do we grow without losing who we are? -What makes a ministry story compelling enough to draw people…

Back in the day, my friend Jared was one of those dynamic, high-energy, inspirational types of leaders. He was relentlessly positive and always looked for the best in people. Jared…

We talk a lot about growth. In articles like this, in conversations I have, and in moments when I’m speaking with leaders, the question always comes up: How do we…

When a ministry is new, communication is usually shared, proactive, engaging, and exciting. There is often one primary voice that everyone hears from. This is one of the reasons I…

Sometimes churches borrow what everyone else is doing and then act like they invented it themselves. Watching it happen can be a little funny, kind of like seeing someone walk…

I remember the first time Frank told me about his church. He said, “We have about 60 people who show up regularly, and that’s probably a good size for us.”…

We have several coffee drinkers in our house so it is not uncommon to be at a coffee shop picking up more than one drink at a time. A while…

How Churches Really Grow Unless a church is unusual, it is almost always thinking about how to get more people to attend. It is part of why we put out…

It is a common question we hear when working with churches that are experiencing change. Sometimes those changes are good and sometimes they are painful, but they almost always raise…

Mike woke up on Monday morning, the first quiet day after a chaotic Christmas season, with one question hanging over him like a weight: “How much longer can I keep…

Last week a friend sent me the website of a church he had visited. He asked what I thought of it and what I believed a first time visitor might…

This might sound like a funny thing to say, but sometimes the biggest competition a ministry has is within itself. When Herb walked into the room, I knew we had…

Every pastor knows that feeling: you finish preaching on Sunday, someone says, “Great message, Pastor!” and before you even get to your car you’re already thinking, ‘Okay… now what am…