This has been another amazing year for Rob Paul Ministries. Melanie and I moved to Birmingham in August. I stepped back into a senior pastor role shepherding an amazing church towards revitalization. Throughout the year I also had the privilege of helping multiple churches with comprehensive consultations and several pastors with revitalization coaching. And this website experienced a 36% increase in page views over last year. Thank you! Thank you! Here is a look at the best of 2019. Enjoy!
1. The Pastor’s Wife
This article was actually posted in May of 2018 and reposted in May of 2019 with nearly 3,000 page views.
After sixteen years of her husband serving in ministry a pastor’s wife said to him, “If I had it to do all over again, I would not have married a pastor.” Another long-time pastor’s wife was asked to describe the ideal church. She responded, “Any church where I am not the pastor’s wife.” Neither of these ladies had a problem with their husbands. They had healthy marriages. But like so many ministry wives they had experienced loneliness, unrealistic expectations, even betrayal in the church. Their responses should break the hearts of every member of every church. CONTINUE READING
2. Huffman Baptist Church
This article by Sam Rainer first appeared at The Revitalize Network in their “Revitalization Heroes” series and highlights my call to serve Huffman Baptist Church. We are still early in our journey with HBC, but I am excited about what God is doing.
Rob Paul is at a point in his life where he could do a lot of different things in ministry. He’s a seasoned pastor of three decades. He started a thriving consulting business (RobPaul.net). He is a respected leader and researcher in his field. CONTINUE READING
3. Ten Challenges to Rural Church Revitalization
Rural church revitalization is challenging work. Regardless of your setting, moving a church from stuck or struggling to soaring is difficult. It often takes years just to convince the membership that something needs to change. This is true for churches in urban centers. It is true for suburban and smaller town churches. And it is true for what we affectionately call “country churches.” CONTINUE READING
4. Eight Culture Shifts for Church Revitalization
Change happens. Whether we like it or not the world is different today than it was last week. And it is certainly different than it was ten years ago. The world is constantly changing. Culture is constantly shifting. Certainly some of the culture shifts are not good. Some changes are taking us further away from God’s intention for this world. One of the most prominent examples is the current fascination with gender and sexuality. I suppose every generation deals with its own issues of right and wrong. And it is the responsibility of the church to represent God’s way. The church is called to be counter-cultural. Yet, there are some culture shifts that need to take place within the church. Especially churches that need revitalization. CONTINUE READING
5. Staffing the Declining Church
Over the past few years, staffing the declining church has become a regular topic in my church consultations and coaching calls. Many declining churches struggle with making wise and strategic decisions. They once had large staffs to support their larger ministry programs. As the churches decline, they struggle to make adjustments. And they often make short-sighted decisions. Pragmatic decisions instead of strategic decisions. As a result the churches continue to decline. CONTINUE READING
6. The Aluminum Crape Myrtles
Everybody needs encouragement. Pastors, too. And especially pastors who are leading in church revitalization. I am thankful for the dozens of encouragers who have blessed me through the years. This past week I remembered one special group of encouragers. They call themselves The Aluminum Crape Myrtles. As these ladies say, “Unlike steel magnolias, we bend with the wind.” Pastor, I pray that you have some Aluminum Crape Myrtles in your life. Even better if they are in your church! CONTINUE READING
7. Bad Business Meetings
Every pastor has experienced it at least once. The bad business meeting. Church members gone wild. What should be a family gathering to discuss and discern the will of God for his people becomes a battlefield. Or a playground full of bullies and selfish children vying to get their way. Bad business meetings are not uncommon. CONTINUE READING
8. My Favorite Church Member
Church members come in all shapes and sizes. They also come with differing skills, passions and gifts. And God places each church member in the body according to his design (1 Corinthians 12:18). Fore more than three decades I have had the privilege of loving and serving more than 5,000 church members. And I would be less than truthful if I did not acknowledge that some have been easier to love than others. CONTINUE READING
9. I Resolve To Be A Healthy Church Member
If you are like 60% of the people, you have already made some New Year’s Resolutions. And if you are like 90% of those people, you have already broken at least one of them! One of the most common resolutions we make is to get healthy. Eat right. Get more exercise. Lose weight. You get the idea. “I resolve that I will eat more salad.” And then we make the salad. A bed of lettuce. Add some shredded carrots, onions and a few olives. So far so good. But then comes the bacon, ham, boiled eggs and cheese. And don’t forget to top it off with lots of original Ranch dressing! CONTINUE READING
10. A Call To Lead Change
A call to pastoral ministry is a call to lead change. And leading change can be… Well, it can be an adventure. I have never seen a church that did not need to experience at least some change. In all honesty, many churches appear trapped in a time warp. They are well-equipped for ministry in 1975. Not so much for ministry as we approach the start of the third decade of the third millennium! CONTINUE READING
I am so grateful for each of you. And I pray that your 2020 will be even greater than 2019!
