“Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” – Galatians 6:9 (NLT) Sometimes your church can seem a lot like a waiting room. You’re waiting for the next stage of growth in your church. You’re waiting for

Spiritual ruts are common to every believer. Having been a pastor for more than 60 years, I’ve discovered it’s easy to fall into spiritual slumps—times when even as pastors we don’t feel close to God. David experienced this in his walk with God. He wrote about it in multiple places in the Psalms, including Psalm

Bad habits and addictions wreck ministries. You see it all the time. The truth is, everyone has bad habits, and pastors are no different. But you can’t have the ministry God has called you to if you let anything but Jesus control you. Pastor, here’s the good news: No matter how hopeless you feel your

The world has changed mightily in the 42 years since I started Saddleback. When we held our first service in the spring of 1980, cell phones didn’t exist. We didn’t have the Internet. No one had a personal video camera. Only a handful of people had personal computers. I remember we bought three computers for

I’ve had a lot of people throughout the years come into my office and tell me that my plans for Saddleback are impossible. You’ve probably had it happen, too. You start a new building campaign with a huge goal. Or you commit to a new mission project that looks overwhelming. Whatever it is, people will

I have learned much in different areas of faith and ministry from my 60 years of friendship with Jesus. It has been an amazing journey, and I hope you’ll join me as I describe some of what I’ve learned along the way. I made two of the most important decisions of my life before I

“We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” Numbers 13:30 (NIV) If you look at the future with fear instead of faith, then you will underestimate the abilities God has given you. Seeing life with eyes of fear causes you to bury your talents. When Moses sent

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew

It’s no secret that people look to make changes in their lives at the beginning of the year. It’s a time when people get back into fitness, get their finances under control, and get serious about their spiritual lives. But too often these changes don’t stick. As a church leader, you’ve likely seen it many

“Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives we should be living!” 2 Peter 3:11 (TLB) Your commitments shape your life more than anything else. Your commitments can develop you—or they can destroy you. But either way, they will define you. Tell me what you’re committed to, and I’ll tell you

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 (NIV) Failure is never final. You’re never a failure until you quit, and it’s always too soon to quit! You can’t determine the greatness of church leaders by looking

How Will God Judge our Faithfulness? That one day when we stand before our Creator and are looking to hear – “Well Done!” Do we fully understand the aspects by which we’ll be judged? These 7 areas of our life and leadership should be the ones we are most focused on developing and refining. Do

The book of Nehemiah shows the importance of good leadership in the completion of a project. With the right leadership, the Israelites were able to complete a project in 52 days—a project that, for 80 years, people had said couldn’t be done. When you get the right catalyst, important projects get finished. What kind of

I believe we have a sleeping giant in our churches today. If that sleeping giant awakes, the world won’t be the same. The sleeping giant is lay people who aren’t serving somewhere in ministry. Our greatest need in the church today is to release an army of lay ministers to do what God is calling

I know many pastors who have been exhausted over the last year. Pastoring during a pandemic has brought unique challenges and new routines for all of us. And some of us are still struggling to keep up with all the changes we’ve had to navigate. If this is you, God has more to say about

Life is full of losses. It’s sobering to remember that nothing around us is permanent. Pastor, everyone in our congregations will go through seasons of loss where they lose their finances, jobs, health, marriage, or loved ones. And we need to help them through these periods. Here are five steps we can share with our

The videos in this series with Dr. Bruce Perry are provided to view and share.  We have closed captioned each video. To change captions from English to another language, select “settings” (cog at bottom right), select “Subtitles/CC” then select “Auto-translate” and finally select the language of your choice. NN COVID Series: 1 – Patterns of Stress determine Risk & Resilience This brief (15

Worry is taking its toll on the world today. Late last month, a poll by the American Psychiatric Association noted that nearly half of Americans were anxious about getting COVID-19. Close to two-thirds were concerned about a family member catching it. Two-thirds of people also feared the long-lasting implications for the economy. Pastor, I’m sure