Minister's Toolbox

Listening both to God and people is an essential skill for anyone seeking to minister on behalf of Christ.  Today, I share five simple tips that you can do right now to become a better listener. Click here for a free download summarizing these tips. Since this podcast, my book was published. If you would like to read the first three chapters for free, click here .

  A “loose cannon” is a person lacking insight. Their whose actions and/or speech jeopardizes the safety of people in their proximity or under their authority. In the body of Christ, we have powerful and gifted people who can do great good or great harm.  The only way that power and gifting have focus and ultimate effectiveness is when each cannon is under the authority and command of the captain....

We spend many hours readying, praying and studying to preach sermons each week, but after a few hours they are often forgotten. People get busy doing other things and we have seven more days before another sermon is expected. Are there effective ways to make our sermons last longer? On today's podcast, I mention two: First - record your sermons and put them on your website. You can do this fo...

You're a leader in God's Church. What exactly does that mean?  In Ephesians 4: 11-12, Paul told us that Christ gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to His Church. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people. By definition, a leader trains disciples with their gift.   If you cut me open, you would not find a pastor, functionally speaking. Teaching forms the founda...

Minister's Toolbox is all about tools to help you do ministry more effectively. Today, I share 4 that I highly recommend. They are : Evernote Sermon Central Sermon.net Canva Visit our Tools Page for links to these and other resources.

Rodney Dangerfield became famous for opening his act with the words, "I don't get no respect." What about you? Do you get the respect you deserve? Are there things you are doing that signal to people you are not worthy of respect? Without respect, people will not apply your preaching to their lives. How can you gain respect from people that belittle your ministry? During the podcast...

Anger is more of a problem for church leaders than we care to admit.  If we are not careful, it can ruin our current and future ministry. Today, we talk about ways to change anger to a more productive approach. Download a free download of Tips to Overcome Anger For Ministers here .

Ministry is stressful. Nearly all church functions center around food. Many church leaders struggle with their health. Today, we share some actionable steps towards living a more healthy life as a pastor. Want the show notes?  Download here. During the podcast, we mentioned myfitnesspal which is free. We also mentioned audiobooks by Amazon which is free for the first month. To try it out and recei...

Happy New Year? Not if you haven't laid out plans for the year ahead.  We talk about goals today and I mention some useful affiliate links.  The first is The Three Battlegrounds by Francis Frangipane. The second is The Slight Edge by Jeff Olsen. Both are great resources in their own right. Be sure to check out our Tools page for additional resources.

Did Jesus use a repeatable method throughout his teaching ministry?  Can you incorporate the same method into your own sermons? Yes, and yes! Jesus used an amazing amount of questions to teach both his followers and his opponents. Click here  to see how often. 

I have great respect for Billy Graham, but we don't need another one ! God does not call anyone to be a copy. What has He asked you to accomplish during your stay on planet earth? I mention an inspiring video on YouTube about Billy Sunday. Watch it here . Click here for the show notes that include links to other resources.

We're in a position that tends to attract critics. The public feels comfortable making comments on our preaching, our churches our lifestyle and even the clothes we wear! At the same time, we are called to reach these people for Christ. How can we reach those ensnared by a negative outlook on life without allowing them to poison other members? I offer a free download at the end of the podcast...

Vision is essential to effective leadership.  What exactly is it? How do you get one? Does it matter where it comes from? During the show I mention the book, Good To Great by Jim Collins. You can read a chapter or get the book here .  You can also read the show notes from today's podcast by downloading them here .

Depression is a serious problem in America - a problem church leaders are called to address. What happens when ministers experience the blues? How can you get "un-funked?" On today's podcast, we offer a free download that you can get here .   Help us by share this podcast with other leaders by leaving an honest review on ITunes or sharing on social media using the buttons to your le...

Pastors need and deserve a regular time of rest and refreshment. Usually they don't get it. How important is it for ministers to observe a Sabbath? What are the consequences to when we don't? On today's podcast, we offer a free resource guide about how you can incorporate a Sabbath into your weekly schedule. You can download it here .

Preacher's Kids are a unique group of people. By default, they experience all the pressures of your ministry even though they never became ordained. Today we discuss 4 major reasons preachers kids walk away from the church. I then offer some practical steps in this free download .   

I sat down with Jan Nel, a close friend and apostolic leader. Jan shares insights about how God shaped him for his ministry to many nations of the world. You can learn more about Jan and the apostolic adventure here . This is a short video on Jan and Sarah's recent ministry in Thailand To follow him on Facebook, go to The Ministry of Jan Nel  

Church attendance is decreasing. Is this the media's fault or has the church relied upon outdated methods to attract new people? What can we do as pastors or church leaders to reverse the trend? On today's podcast, we are featuring two separate downloads. The first is called, Basic Web Information and will help you either get started with your church website or vastly improve it. The sec...

One of the greatest challenges a minister faces is betrayal. We invest hours, days, weeks and years into relationships with church members and other ministers only to get "stabbed in the back." Truly betrayal never comes at the hands of an enemy, but a friend. How can pastors not only survive, but thrive from acts of betrayal - particularly when they impact our families so severely?  

As church leaders, precisely how do we use our time effectively to accomplish the work Christ has called us to do? Depending on your circumstance, it is easy to waste time under the guise of "busy"-ness.  Today we share some practical insights from scripture to help pastors use their time wisely. During today's podcast, we offer a free download to help you organize your time more ef...

One of the major reasons that church leaders change vocations is loneliness. As pastors, we are trained to preach and teach effectively, but not to create alliances with fellow ministers. Today we speak with Ramin Salehi who has worked with the Luis Palau organization to create strategic relationships with pastors to have regional impact. We also share Steps To Creating A Minister's Fellowshi...

Every day ministers are confronted with sexual temptation in the form of advertising, the Internet and the broken lives of those we serve. How can church leaders make sure they don't fall into sexual traps? Pastors are easy targets for affairs because their "job" is to understand and offer help. Without clear boundaries, sex and spell the end to a promising career. Here are a few re...

Money is the one topic that pastors avoid talking about but is more often than not, the elephant in the room. How should pastors and church leaders be compensated for what they do? What are the benefits offered to ministers under current tax regulations? How can pastors take advantage of these provisions? I have a free download called, Financial Resources For Pastors .  

Do parachurch ministries help or hurt the work of the local church? Today we speak with Sarah Carabetta, Director of ACTS4 on how parachurch organizations can form strategic partnerships to broaden the impact of your local congregation. You can get more information about ACTS4 here . Here is the free download, 5 Tips To Help Choose A Parachurch Partner Transcript of Today's Podcast A para chu...

Blogging is a free opportunity available to anyone to communicate the gospel. We take a tongue-in-cheek look at why pastors should avoid starting a blog and then offer practical reasons why they should. To get started, you need your own website. I mentioned our affiliate link Bluehost , but there are others like godaddy.com and hostgator.com to name a few. Once you have your own web address, this...