Chuck Lawless

Chuck Lawless

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  • Why Churches Talk the Great Commission but Don't Do It

    Why Churches Talk the Great Commission but Don't Do It

    In seventeen years of doing church consulting, no church leader has said to me, "Our church really doesn't want to do the Great Commission." I've worked with many churches, though, that proclaim the Great Commission but never get around to doing it. Here are my conclusions about why churches so often fit this description.

  • 10 Things Young Church Leaders Need to Hear from Us

    Two weeks ago, I posted my thoughts on "10 Things We Need to Hear from Young Church Leaders." I'm grateful that post gained traction, as I strongly believe my generation needs to listen to younger church leaders. At the same time, I also think we older leaders have something to say to younger leaders. So, here is the other side of that conversation.

  • 10 Ways to Recognize Our Arrogance

    I'm writing this post for me as much as for anyone. In the past months, I've re-read Jim Collins' How the Mighty Fall and Tim Irwin's Derailed. Both of these gripping studies review the process of decline in leaders and organizations, especially in leaders who perhaps once thought themselves invincible.

  • 6 Leadership Tasks for Easter

    This coming Sunday, Christians around the world will celebrate Easter – perhaps better understood as "Resurrection Sunday." Some believers will celebrate with meals and family get-togethers. Some will gather with the largest church crowds they've seen all year; others will join small groups to rejoice quietly in places where gathering is life threatening.

  • 6 Ways to Evaluate Your Church's Strategy to Assimilate New Believers

    6 Ways to Evaluate Your Church's Strategy to Assimilate New Believers

    Maybe you've seen it happen. A new believer joins a local church, and he is thrilled by his changed life. He shows up at every church event. He consumes knowledge of the Bible. But then something happens. The excited new believer slowly wanders away, and few people in the church notice. Listed below are some steps to evaluate your congregation's assimilation strategy. Taking these steps will require some work, but no church should be pleased when new believers disappear.

  • 10 Reasons Why We Must Love Unlovable Church Members

    I was a young pastor, and I was sure everybody in the church was kind, gracious, and Christian. Everybody would treat everybody else with the love of God. Needless to say, it didn't take me long to learn that even in the church are people who don't quite get there. Some people are really hard to love. Here are ten reasons why we must love even unlovable church members.

  • 8 Ways Leaders Make Themselves Vulnerable to Spiritual Attack

    New Testament writers warn us again and again about the reality of spiritual attack. The apostle Paul, a leader extraordinaire, challenged believers to wear the full armor of God (Eph. 6:11), being ever aware of the enemy's schemes (2 Cor. 2:11). The leader of the church at Jerusalem, James, called followers of Christ to resist the devil (Jms. 4:7). Peter, the leader among Jesus' apostles, warned against the adversary who seeks someone to devour like a roaring lion (1 Pet. 5:8). It is no wonder,

  • 9 Lessons for New Christians . . . And Old Ones

    It's been a long time since I became a Christ follower (39+ years ago), but I still think about what I wish I had known back then. You see, my first years as a believer were not easy. My family was not a Christian family. I was in my early teens, wanting to be faithful to God but also seeking to fit in with my peers. My church loved me, but discipleship was not intentional. I wish someone had helped prepare me for the journey. If I were writing a new believer's guide today for people like me, I

  • 10 Church Diseases

    In the 1990s, Peter Wagner published The Healthy Church, a book describing several diseases that churches sometimes exhibit. Some of his descriptions are quite helpful (e.g., koinonitis = excessive, inward fellowship), and the list itself challenges readers to come up with their own descriptions. Here are ten diseases I see as I consult with unhealthy churches around the country:

  • Eight Confessions of Church Spies

    Eight Confessions of Church Spies

    Have you ever thought that a guest at your church might, in fact, be a spy? My church consulting company uses church "spies" to help us evaluate how churches respond to guests. Our spies are "good" spies, though, since their goal is to help a church face reality and move toward health. Numerous spies have written us reports for more than a decade. Below are some of the most common findings they have sent us.

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