by Catherine Sandgren | Apr 7, 2026 | Uncategorized
I preached a five-week series last summer called Influencer. The first two weeks were classic teaching. We opened the Scriptures, laid a theological foundation for what it means to be an everyday influencer for Jesus, and explored two big questions: What has God given...
by Catherine Sandgren | Mar 13, 2026 | Uncategorized
A Lent reflection for church leaders. There’s an assumption baked into church leadership culture that I’ve watched hurt a lot of good leaders. It goes something like this: you need to hold space for everyone else’s pain. You’re the one being paid. The one who signed...
by Daniel (RTL) | Jan 15, 2026 | Uncategorized
Carey Nieuwhof’s annual trends report dropped, and as usual, it is worth your time. Check out The 7 Disruptive Church Trends That Will Rule 2026. I want to respond to a few of them. The Gen Z Surge Is Real (And We Better Not Blow It) I’ll keep this brief because...
by Daniel (RTL) | Dec 18, 2025 | Uncategorized
A New Scorecard for Christmas Eve Most of us will evaluate our Christmas Eve services the same way we always have. Attendance. Offering. First-time guest cards. And on December 26th, we’ll either feel good or disappointed based on whether those numbers went up...
by Daniel (RTL) | Dec 18, 2025 | Uncategorized
Rethinking the Christmas Invitation Every year around this time, churches gear up for Christmas Eve. It’s one of the biggest opportunities we have. The stats are familiar: most people who don’t attend church would actually come if someone invited them. So...
by Daniel (RTL) | Dec 18, 2025 | Uncategorized
The Power of an Invitation In 1995, Al Detter took me to a restaurant. We sat across from each other, made small talk, and then he issued an invitation. “The job is yours if you want it. I’m inviting you to come onto our staff and be a pastor at Grace...
