Posts by Jason Lehman
The Tale of Two Churches: Special Edition
This is a story about two churches. Both churches have been around for a long time. They have very similar programs, teaching styles, histories, doctrinal statements, and structures. Both churches have had an incredible impact on the world — directly serving, sending, and supporting all kinds of ministry and church plants. Both churches place the…
Read MoreStress and Easter: Special Edition
I had someone challenge me years ago by telling me that what I was doing wasn’t sustainable. He said, “If you’re always giving a hundred percent, then at some point, you won’t have anything left to give.” At the time, it didn’t totally make sense to me. I was a lot younger in ministry then.…
Read MoreHow to Delegate
My daughter, Jada, has a giant pair of clippers in her hands. She looks tiny in comparison to the monstrous gardening tool. I can easily imagine it snipping off one of her little fingers. Yet, I don’t feel scared. While Jada may still be a child, I’ve trusted her more and more as she’s gotten…
Read MoreHope: the Ultimate Inventory
“Girl.” The robotic voice enunciates the word clearly through Khaira’s headphones. She stares at it on her computer screen. Well, the class’s computer screen. She doesn’t own a laptop. Her son had one in Iraq, and they left it behind when they fled their country due to terrorism. She can still see the Arabic letter…
Read MoreAudience Persona Exercise
Terry freezes, locking his eyes on a hawk yards away that sits on a tree branch. He grips the camera hanging from his neck and brings it up to his eye, aiming for the perfect shot. He needs another lens, but he sees the hawk jerk his head towards the opposite direction. The bird’s about…
Read MoreThe Tyranny of Nostalgia
Every generation tends to have a favorite music genre. Even as time passes, they stay forever connected to that one particular era—for my parents it was the 60s and 70s, for me it was the late 90s, for my kids it’s something more recent. This music isn’t special to us because we objectively think it’s…
Read MoreUnraveling Ministry Hurts
Recently I had a conversation with a pastor who shared some of his frustrations in ministry—about his staff, board, and direction. He felt like few understood the level of commitment he had to lead the ministry. We went on to discuss his experience over the years. He had been in ministry for four decades—serving in…
Read MoreHow Partiality Affects Ministry
There’s been a post going around social media lately with a picture of an airplane that has specific areas on it with red dots. The picture is tied to an article about something called survivor partiality. The whole idea behind the image and article is referencing something that came about in World War II about…
Read MoreTo Create Curiosity
Have you ever poured yourself into a project and felt like someone on the other side just didn’t respond well? This is a conversation I have the most often with my clients. It can be easy to think that when we don’t get a good response, the answer must be: try harder. That’s true…sometimes. But…
Read MoreYour Greeting Team’s Biggest Blind Spot
While this blog applies to all types of ministries, it probably impacts churches the most. From time to time, I visit a variety of churches. It kind of goes with the job. One of the most common things I see in churches is greeters. These tend to be the naturally outgoing people who don’t have…
Read More