Coach Jones was a big influence during a key time in my life. He was tough, but fair.

I didn’t always enjoy his approach in the moment, but grew to appreciate it over time.

My 8 favorite Itch Jones quotes & lessons: 🧵

https://x.com/illinibaseball/status/1891676699462373378?s=46

1 “If I’m never hard on you, it means either you’re perfect or I don’t think you can get any better. And I’ve never coached a perfect player.”

I didn’t always like his critique. But I knew it came from a belief that I could improve. And it taught me to value feedback.

I was converted to Christ at 17 years old. My heart was changed, my sin was forgiven, and I was given new life in Jesus.

I'm now 44.

I've had 4 massive paradigm-shifts in the years between — so big and life-changing that each one was almost like another "conversion." 🧵 1. Doctrines of Grace: God saves sinners from first to last.

Seeing God's sovereign grace showed me how big and glorious God really is.

The weight of my of sin, my sense of awe and worship, and my confidence in sharing the gospel all increased. What joy and freedom!

Popular myths among pastors & churches:

1. Healthy things grow
2. Small groups are essential for making disciples
3. Churches don't need buildings
4. A church shouldn't run like a business
5. If we have godly leaders, that's enough

Why these aren't quite right: 🧵 1. "Healthy things grow"

Uh, yeah, sort of. But if you're a 50 year-old man who is growing physically, something is wrong. Cancer is also a kind of growth.

Healthy churches keep adapting. They work intentionally to stay fresh. But they don't always grow numerically.

Preaching is pretty subjective — different folks resonate with different preachers.

All good. It's awesome that preachers have different styles.

But here are 7 styles of preaching we need to avoid: 🧵 1. The “Look at Me” Preacher

It looks like a preacher sharing too many stories about himself — especially ones that paint him as the hero of the story. Other times it's self-indulgence with humor, drama, or boldness.

As preachers, our goal is to point to Jesus, not ourselves.

A huge part of an effective church staff is everyone knowing and appreciating how they are different.

Without this, the specific gifts people bring end up muted or their specific weaknesses end up highlighted.

A few ideas on how to build greater understanding among a staff: 🧵 1) Regular conversations as a group about your strengths & weaknesses.

Conversation starters:

• What do you find easy that is daunting for most people?
• If I could only do 1 aspect of my role, what should it be?
• If you could wave a magic wand to change me, how would you?

Another mistake I've made in leading our church staff: minimizing my responsibility.

Leaders have to empower others & delegate responsibility, but must still accept that the buck stops with us.

A few ideas for pastors on how to take responsibility with your staff: 🧵 In their book, Extreme Ownership, @jockowillink & @LeifBabin write:

• There are no bad teams, only bad leaders.

• On any team, in any organization, all responsibility for success and failure rests with the leader. The leader must own everything in his or her world.

I've made a bunch of mistakes in leading a church staff.

One of the biggest is tolerating a lack of clarity.

Some thoughts for pastors on the problems this creates and how to fix them: 🧵 In church leadership, clarity looks like:

• Written job descriptions
• Visual org chart
• Clearly articulated "wins" for ministries
• Documented staff culture expectations
• Repetitively sharing WHY
• Seasonal "rallying cries" of focus
• An employee handbook

Trying to coach underperforming staff?

It's easy to get frustrated, but part of a leader's job is to help his team succeed.

A short 🧵 on three stages to help folks succeed: Stage 1: Provide Clarity

Do they understand what they can and should be doing, as well as the deadlines? Don't just assume it's clear. Clarify and re-clarify.

A mentor of mine says: "Ambiguity is the enemy of accountability."

The most painful part of my sermon prep is editing. So hard to cut good stuff.

But editing is essential to a sermon being cohesive (and not running long!)

Where to cut? Here are 7 areas I often find stuff to cut: 1) Extra illustrations

If a point has multiple illustrations, it's too much. I pick the best one and cut the other. If the illustration needs an illustration, then it's not worth sharing.

What’s the role of an elder board?

On one hand, it’s simple and the same everywhere: shepherd, love, pray, protect.

But, on the other, it depends a lot on the size & needs of the church.

Here are 4 stages of an elder board’s role: Stage 1: DOING the Ministry

In a brand-new or very small church, the elders are often the ones doing much of the ministry. They’re setting up chairs, hauling in gear, greeting people at the door, leading every small group, and showing up at the hospital.

It's easy for unselfish pastors to accidentally preach selfish sermons.

Especially if you highly regard preaching, its role in the church, & its centrality on Sunday.

selfish = "lacking consideration for others"

You might be preaching selfish sermons if you... 🧵 1. Aren't available to minister to people before the service.

We are pastors, not just preachers. We can't hide out in a green room or office before the service. We can't just pore over our notes.

If we're so preoccupied w/ the sermon that we neglect people, that's selfish.

A pastor I coach wisely identified “driving culture” as one of his top priorities in leading the church.

After all, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast" (Drucker)

But HOW?

We drilled down & identified 5 activities that help pastors cultivate their culture: 🧵 1. Embody the Culture.

Leaders teach what they know, but they REPRODUCE who they ARE.

Specific values or culture statements only matter if they match the lifestyle, passions, habits, and presence of the leader.

Got this encouraging note the other day about the sermon evaluation tool I put together.

Experience is good.
Evaluated experience is better.

The tool has 14 areas to evaluate the Content, Feel, & Delivery of a sermon — here they are in a short 🧵: 1. The speaker gave me a reason to listen early on in the message.

2. It was clear where the speaker was driving, and the progression of points was traceable.

3. The message points were clearly rooted in the primary text and in line with the rest of Scripture.

Pastors, are you tired of people ignoring your church's emails?

Our church's open rate went from 37% → 60% in last few years. This means more people hearing vision, knowing about events, & engaging in ministry.

How to write emails people will actually read: 1. Send it from a person, not the organization. You're always more likely to open an email from an individual — especially one you trust.

2. Use more plain text and less fancy design. Make it feel more like a normal email and less like a web magazine.

It's brutal when a leader finds out too late that nobody finds the vision compelling.

But it's possible to get crystal-clear on your vision on the front end — before the pain of people not buying in.

Here are 6 questions to assess the clarity of your vision: 1. Where are we now?

If a vision paints a picture of a preferred future, then it must begin by clearly defining current reality.

What separates the best preachers from everyone else?

Regardless of background, tradition, personality, ethnicity, or level of fame, they all have something in common.

The best preachers consistently close these 7 gaps: 1. The Interest Gap

The gap between the preacher's sense that what they are sharing is interesting and what the hearer actually finds interesting. One friend of mine says, "Sermons aren't measured in minutes, but in minutes beyond interest."

My daughter is a competitive volleyball player, and we're wrapping up day 3 of a big tourney.

I've watched countless hours and thousands of points this season — and I've noticed a bunch of transferable leadership lessons.

🧵 Leadership lessons (⏩) from volleyball (🏐): 1. Looking good isn't the same as being good

🏐 Some girls are giants. They're on the "all-bus" team (look good coming off the bus), but not the "all-star" team.

⏩ It's not the coolest or smartest who thrive as leaders—but those with humility, grit, & care over time.

Fellow Pastors:

We are not our ministries.
We are not our sermons.
We are not our creativity.
We are not our metrics.
We are not what our worst critics whisper.
We are not what our biggest fans celebrate.

We are who Jesus says we are.

What does he say? ⬇️ 1. Dead to Sin (Rom. 6:11)

2. Spiritually Alive (Rom. 6:11)

3. Forgiven (Col. 2:13)

4. Declared Righteous (1 Cor. 1:30)

5. A Child of God (Rom. 8:16)

Preachers, still looking for some insight for your Easter sermon?

Here are my 15 all-time favorite Easter quotes: You are not suffering from anything that a good resurrection can’t fix.

- D. A. Carson

Preachers, we rarely feel pressure like on Easter weekend.

Not only is there the extra spiritual attack, logistical details, and overall stress. Oh, and you also have a sermon—and it better be AMAZING. 🙄

Here's my checklist to help you make the most of your Easter sermon: ✔️ Don't get too cute

There's always a temptation to get overly "creative" for Easter. After all, it's a familiar story that you want to be interesting.

Resist that urge — this thing isn't about you and your ingenuity. Preach a simple, clear gospel message.

Every preacher has Assumptions, Beliefs, & Convictions (ABC's) that shape how they approach their preaching ministry.

Here are my top ten: 1. Preaching is an essential tool for making disciples (evangelizing & discipleship).

Preaching is not merely the traditional approach to ‘doing church.’ It cannot be abandoned, minimized, replaced, or neglected without significant decline to the health of a local church.