My Response to the Assination of Charlie Kirk
Sometimes a preacher must change his message – On the night of Thursday–Friday, April 24–25, 1980, the U.S. launched Operation Eagle Claw to rescue 52 American hostages held in Tehran. Mechanical failures compounded by a sandstorm led to a collision between a helicopter and a C-130 at the Desert One staging site, killing eight U.S. […]
The Fallacy of the Entrepreneurial Church
“The biblical model of relying solely on tithes and offerings no longer works for many churches.” That stunning sentence in a recent article represents a white flag of surrender that, unfortunately, many church leaders are falling for. Please understand that the author of the above sentence is deeply committed to the local church. I’ve not […]
The Seasonal Approach to Generosity Planning
Every church leader knows the calendar brings both challenges and opportunities for generosity. Easter brings record crowds, summer brings empty seats, and December brings the largest gifts of the year. The question is: will you react to the calendar, or will you plan to redeem it? That’s why I take a seasonal approach to generosity […]
Six Million Steps of Faith: Why Pastor Corey Brooks’ Walk Across America Matters to You
Years ago, one Chicago pastor climbed onto the roof of an abandoned motel because he was tired of burying teenagers. For 94 freezing days, Pastor Corey Brooks camped out on that rooftop, determined to draw attention to the gun violence that was claiming young lives on Chicago’s South Side. That bold act of faith sparked […]
The Churches Ticking Time Bomb
Two years ago, I issued a stark warning to a group of Southern Baptist leaders: without immediate action, thousands of their churches could vanish by 2030. Last year, the warning was tragically confirmed. In April, Lifeway Research reported that the Southern Baptist Convention lost 1,253 churches in 2022. This is not just a Southern Baptist […]
Preparing Now for the 2030s
I’m focused on helping churches be financially secure by 2030. For years, I have marched under the motto, “Reversing Giving One Church at a Time.” With the decline of giving picking up speed and endangering the future of thousands of churches, there is never a better time to prepare for the future than now. Remember, […]
Visioneering the 2030s
The church that survives into the future is the church that prepares today for the future. That’s been one of my Brooks Mantras on stewardship that I have been repeating to you since around 2018. Pastor Shane, Bishop of Christ Church outside of Saint Louis, took that advice to heart as I flew up to […]
Planning for the Future
As I wind down my newsletters, I plan on bringing back some of what I consider my key articles. Build, renovate, or repurpose the facilities you need and pay off any debt quickly. That has been my advice for the last few years. I thought about that last Sunday night as I attended a Leadership […]
Being Prepared for Future Surprises
As we near the end of the year and the start of the New Year, I will be sharing with you posts about how to end well and start well. Here is a post I wrote last year that contains four timeless stewardship plans. “Almost all on Wall Street and in Washington got 2022 wrong.” […]
Preparing Now for the 2030s
I’m focused on helping churches be financially secure by 2030. For years, I have marched under the motto, “Reversing Giving One Church at a Time.” With the decline of giving picking up speed and endangering the future of thousands of churches, there is never a better time to prepare for the future than now. Remember, […]