Effective Church Websites

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your […]

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Culture Rules – Book excerpts

In his blog, LeadingWithQuestions, Bob Tiede presents a 5-part series from the book Culture Rules: The Leader’s Guide to Creating the Ultimate Competitive Advantage by Mark Miller. Bob Tiede is with CRU and on the U.S. Leadership Development Team. While Mark Miller’s book targets organizations and companies, his three Rules for Building Your Culture along with […]

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Life with a limp

This book is a book for “limpers” by one who limps. I believe you will find it pastorally helpful and theologically insightful in your own ministry within an international context.   Everybody walks with a limp. Some may hide their limp better than others. Nevertheless, the limp is there. From cradle to casket, we sooner […]

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The 5 C’s

Churches are desperate for good leadership and not just pastoral leadership. Leaders come in all shapes and sizes, and good leaders are needed throughout an organization, not just at the top. In many ways, the role of the senior pastor is primarily to train up other leaders to fill various roles throughout the church and […]

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Shibboleths and International Churches

The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim would say, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he answered, “No,” they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized […]

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On Being the City to Come: City Books

Where you live matters. Your context matters. God’s people have never been called into a ghetto, some kind of vacuum, protected by high walls of fear, suspicion, and judgementalism about everyone else. Your church’s context matters, it is the place where the church shines the light of the future in Christ, your city. Your church […]

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Profile of an Effective International Church Pastor

The International Church (IC) is a collection of God’s people with a multi-everything kaleidoscope of backgrounds from across the globe. Together they serve God, serve one another, and serve in mission. An extended definition and description of an IC can be found at http://micn.org/defined/. For IC’s strategic positioning read “International Church for a Global World” […]

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Preaching Towards Mission: Which Hope?

The civil war continued sporadically. My friend took me to see the community development project he managed in a village about two hours North of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. But for a long time, nothing much had changed. The village was caught between two opposing forces and they were unsure which way the outcome would turn. […]

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Preaching Towards Mission: Which Gospel?

Sarah, a good friend, has stopped attending church. This was not a matter of a loss of faith or a desire to rebel in some way. An intelligent and well informed university graduate in her thirties, the reasons she gave were these. The church in its life, culture and preaching had nothing much to do […]

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