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Seven Practices for Effective Church Ministry

[Editor’s note: this is a shortened version of a longer version that I will publish next week]

Moses knew long days. He sat in the desert, hearing case after case, explaining God’s word to Israel. It looked holy and necessary. But Jethro, his father-in-law, wasn’t impressed: “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out” (Ex. 18:17–18). Moses listened, delegated, and the ministry multiplied.

The point is simple: God gives His people not only His Spirit and Word but also wisdom to order their life together. Common grace, observation, and practical strategy are gifts. Planning is not unspiritual—it is one way we love well, avoid burnout, and keep the gospel central.

Stanley, Joiner, and Riggs’s Seven Practices of Effective Ministry distills this wisdom. These principles echo Scripture and experience. They remind us that effectiveness requires more than hard work. It requires focus. Among the seven, three stand out as essential for churches that want to see lasting fruit: clarifying the win, thinking steps not programs, and replacing yourself.

Clarify the Win
When Paul said, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22), he showed clarity. Preserving one culture was not the goal; salvation was. That was the win.

Too often, churches confuse the “ketchup” with the mission. Years ago, our fellowship meal was moved to Sunday morning. Everyone stayed. Visitors connected. It was a clear win. Yet the leader in charge worried only about a missing condiment. The food wasn’t the win—the fellowship was.

Every ministry needs the same clarity. What does success look like for your Sunday School class, your youth ministry, your outreach event? If you don’t define the win, people will chase details that don’t matter. When you do, it aligns energy, reduces frustration, and keeps the mission in front of everyone.

Clarify the win—or people will invent their own. Continue reading “Seven Practices for Effective Church Ministry”

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Turn One Trip of a Lifetime Into Two: 10 Ways to Save Money on International Travel

Traveling internationally isn’t as daunting as it seems—and it can even be cheaper than a cross‑country flight in the United States. You’ll often find round‑trip fares to Europe or Latin America for less than an East Coast–to–West Coast ticket. Once you arrive, hotels and meals can also cost far less than California rates.

Yet international trips can quickly become expensive: airfare, tours, hotels, taxis—you can watch your budget evaporate. Some travelers shrug and think, “It’s a once‑in‑a‑lifetime trip, so why worry?” And halfway through, you may decide the splurge is worth it. But with a bit of planning and strategy, you can stretch one epic journey into two—or even three.

Here’s ten strategies for making this happen.

1. Account for the “first‑time” cost of learning.
No amount of foresight eliminates surprises. Every new destination comes with a learning curve—and extra expenses you won’t repeat.


For example, on my first trip to northern Norway, I booked a rental car at Narvik—only to discover at the counter that “Narvik” was actually 45 minutes away from the airport. After paying roughly $40 per person for bus transfers, I still paid an additional $100 fee to return the car at the airport location and avoid the time and hassle of more bus transfers.

By contrast, on my third trip to Spain—after mastering the country’s transport system—we breezed through Barcelona, Sevilla, Córdoba, Madrid, and Valencia in under a week. No mishaps, just smooth travel made possible by hard‑won experience.

2. Be flexible about your departure airport.
A two‑hour drive to a major hub can slash hundreds off your ticket.

When my wife, two children, and a friend booked flights to Egypt from Knoxville, fares exceeded $1,000 each—over $5,000 total, plus lengthy layovers. Instead, we carpooled four hours to Atlanta, where round‑trip tickets were around $600! Parking for two weeks was $150 total—just $30 per person—and gas added another $30 each. We saved over $400 per person simply by choosing a different departure city.

3. Be flexible about your destination airport. Continue reading “Turn One Trip of a Lifetime Into Two: 10 Ways to Save Money on International Travel”

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How Do We Pursue Peace?

Peace should be a high priority for all believers. We should do all we can to ensure that the church is a harmonious and pleasant place to worship. Each Christian should be peaceable. But what does it mean to be peaceable?

Wilhelmus à Brakel, in his Reformed classic The Christian’s Reasonable Service, offers this definition of peaceableness:

Peaceableness is a believer’s quiet and contented disposition of soul, inclining him toward, and causing him to strive for, the maintaining of a relationship with his neighbor characterized by sweet unity—doing so in the way of truth and godliness. (4:91)

Continue reading “How Do We Pursue Peace?”

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How to Find Real Community at Church

Church can be disappointing. It can also hurt us. You can find deep friendships in the church—but sometimes they elude you. So how can you find real community at church?

The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer believed that rich and rewarding community was possible in the church. He experienced it. He also saw it go wrong. He offered powerful wisdom in his book Life Together—wisdom that helps us discover real community and avoid the traps that keep us from it.

It’s a Gift
Bonhoeffer wrote Life Together based on his time leading an underground seminary training pastors from 1937–1938. Eventually, the Nazi government shut it down. He learned through suffering that Christian community is not something to assume or demand. There might have been no church. As he put it, “[i]t is not simply to be taken for granted that the Christian has the privilege of living among other Christians” (17).

He came to see the church as pure gift: “It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren” (20).

It’s About Healing
Every believer sins. Every believer must pray, “Forgive us our debts . . .”

But sin thrives in the dark. Bonhoeffer writes, “Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons the whole being of a person” (112). Bring it to the light! “He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone” (110). But your brother “breaks the circle of self-deception” (116). Continue reading “How to Find Real Community at Church”

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5 Guidelines for Engaging in Controversy in the Church

Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and he said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9). Yet peacemaking does not always produce peace. As the Apostle Paul put it, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Rom. 12:18). Both Jesus and Paul knew by experience: peace is not always possible.

Controversy is inevitable. In a fallen world—even among the redeemed—disagreements will arise. Some will be public. Some will be painful. All will be difficult.

What makes controversy dangerous is not just its presence but its power.

First, controversy often spirals. As Proverbs 17:14 warns, “Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.” We’ve all seen small disagreements explode into chaos. Just as a single assassination ignited the horrors of World War I, so a careless word or action can trigger a prolonged and destructive conflict.

Second, controversy consumes. Once inside it, the temptation is to chase resolution endlessly. We keep thinking the next email, argument, or revelation will end it. But it rarely does. It drags on and on. Paul warns of those with “an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions” (1 Tim. 6:4). I’ve lived that. It took over more and more of my time, my energy, and my soul (see my article explaining this here).

So, how do we engage necessary controversy without being devoured by it? Here are five ways.

1. Don’t Turn Mountains into Molehills—or Molehills into Mountains
Francis Turretin, a master of theological controversy, wisely noted: “All truths are not of the same weight.” Some truths are essential to salvation and godliness. Others are important but not fundamental. Some guard church order. Others are matters of prudence and preference. Wisdom demands that we discern the difference (Sean Lucas called it “theological triage.” Read his post here).

John Holmes Agnew saw this clearly. He lamented how disagreements are often “magnified into mountains that separate us from each other,” while the weightier matters we agree upon “are almost buried in oblivion,” unable to unify us in “the sweetest harmony of love” (“Motives and Means to Peace in the Churches”). He was right. We must guard against exaggeration and distortion. Continue reading “5 Guidelines for Engaging in Controversy in the Church”

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