Category: Navigating God’s Crazy and Wonderful Invention, the Church

What is the church like, and how can we make it all that God wants it to be?

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Seven Practices for Effective Church Ministry (Full Version)

[Note: you can read a shorter version of this article here]

Long days. Endless complaints. Burnout. That was Moses’ life in the desert.

All day long, day after day, Moses listened to the people and then explained to them the word of God. Moses was a prophet. Everybody wanted to talk to him. It seemed like a good use of his time.

But someone did not agree—Moses’ father-in-law Jethro. “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone” (Exodus 18:17–18). Jethro thought Moses was taking on too much himself. He worried Moses would wear himself and the people out. He was probably also concerned for his daughter-in-law.

What happened next is remarkable. Moses could have said to his father-in-law, “You know, I’m a prophet. I think I know what I’m doing.” But he didn’t. He listened. “So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said” (Ex. 18:24).

What Moses recognized is that wisdom—knowing how to pursue the good in the best way—is not the province of the covenant community alone. It will always be surprising how much people in the world understand about creation, organizations, and even God. God’s common grace is a marvelous gift.

Moses was open to it, and we should be, too.

In this article, I want to highlight seven practices I have learned from a variety of sources. They are distilled in a very helpful way in The Seven Practices of Effective Ministry by Stanley, Joiner, and Riggs, to which I am particularly indebted. It is similar to Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. These practices contain timeless wisdom for running our lives and our organizations well. They are the principles that help us be effective and avoid “wearing ourselves out” while accomplishing little.

Before we get into the principles, allow me to expand on why we should think carefully about what we are doing as churches and ministries. It might seem more holy just to rely on the Holy Spirit in the moment and not plan too much. It might seem that love is more spontaneous and that planning inhibits the free flow of love to those who need it.

This is not completely wrong. Every plan can become a straitjacket and an idol. We can turn our plans into self-reliance and forget God. Scripture constantly warns us: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me . . .” (Jer. 9:23–24). This warning is not because wisdom is bad but because it is good. However, it is not as good as knowing and relying on the Lord, who can do far above all that we ask or imagine.

So, why should we even worry about wisdom or strategy in our organizations? Here are five reasons:

First, we need organizational wisdom because churches get bogged down in what matters least. Stanley et al. describe a situation that is all too familiar: “some ministries seem routine and irrelevant; the teaching feels too academic; calendars are saturated with mediocre programs; staff members pull in opposite directions; volunteers lack motivation; departments viciously compete for resources; and it becomes harder and harder to figure out if we are really being successful” (65). When we talk about organizational wisdom, we’re not fixing what already works well. We’re addressing the frustrations, the distractions from real ministry.

Second, we need organizational wisdom because not everything we do is equally important. The distribution of food to widows was quite important, but the Apostles said: “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (Acts 6:2). They didn’t say food distribution was unimportant. They said they had a more important task they could not abandon. So, they delegated it to seven deacons. Continue reading “Seven Practices for Effective Church Ministry (Full Version)”

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Seven Practices for Effective Church Ministry

[Note: this is a shortened version of a longer version of this article that you can read here]

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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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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How I Ended up on Stated Clerk Bryan Chapell’s List

It’s been a while since my name made waves, but yesterday it resurfaced in the Reformed Twitter world. The reason? I was named a “scandalizer” on a list held up by the Stated Clerk of our denomination. The warning, in context, was against becoming someone who constantly focuses on the errors of others. It’s a good and timely warning. I’ve seen firsthand how that path can lead to a dark place. Devotion to controversy has a way of hollowing people out. I’ve watched it happen—repeatedly.

So, how did I end up on that list?

I entered the Reformed world full of questions. Reading broadly only gave me more. Early on, I was drawn toward what’s known as the “Federal Vision.” It had a certain pull—especially its high view of the sacraments. That approach seemed to resonate with some New Testament language and offered answers to issues like assurance, the role of works, and the centrality of the church.

But over time, I began to see the problems. Taken too far, those views risked overemphasizing the external at the expense of spiritual communion. Charles Hodge’s Discussions in Church Polity helped clarify this for me. The dangers, I concluded, outweighed the benefits. I turned away.

A few years into pastoral ministry, those very debates hit our presbytery. The conflict was intense. Eventually, cases reached the highest court of our church. As the dust settled, I realized this wasn’t just a local problem—it was bigger than I had thought. And I believed some of our denomination’s most visible leaders—Bryan Chapell, Roy Taylor, and Tim Keller—weren’t doing enough to confront it.

So I fought. Hard. I used every means available to me, chief among them my blog: weswhite.net, also known as Johannes Weslianus. I modeled it loosely on Breitbart—exposing, analyzing, naming names.

By 2012, I walked away from it all. I turned my focus back to the local church. Why? Because while I had worked to expose falsehood, I hadn’t focused enough on truth. And the truth is this: the Gospel offers salvation to all and creates spiritual communion among those who believe it. That realization changed how I saw others—inside and outside the church. It made me want to become better at communicating how this faith draws us into fellowship with God and one another. Ironically, I found myself resonating with Bryan Chapell’s own vision for the PCA. I laid out my strong affirmation of his vision here.

I shut down the blog. I stepped away from church politics. Part of me felt the work I had been called to do was finished. It was time to hand it off to others.

My theological views didn’t change, but my posture did. I came to see that my approach had often been wrong. I had maligned good men—Chapell, Taylor, Keller—not because of theological disagreement, but because of how I chose to wage my battles. So, I apologized, publicly and privately, where I could.

I also began working toward reconciliation. One former adversary and I reconnected. We talked, listened, forgave—and became friends. You can read about it here.

That change was a gift. I don’t regret stopping. I don’t regret contending for important issues. I do regret the way I sometimes did it—especially the ways I hurt people, including those who largely agreed with me but chose a different, and perhaps wiser, path. I regret my impatience. I regret not building more around a positive vision of the Christian life—one grounded in love for the Triune God and service to others.

Being on that list doesn’t bother me. At one time, I was exactly the kind of person it warns about. But I’m grateful those days are behind me. I still care deeply about truth, but controversy no longer tops the list.

Today, I serve as assistant pastor in Dr. Chapell’s former church. I’ve seen the fruit of his ministry firsthand. I’m thankful for his work here and in the denomination. I wish him all the best—and I genuinely hope his vision becomes more and more the vision of the PCA.

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