​A Word to the Wise: 10 Ways to Scare Off Young Adults From Your Church (P. J. Dunn)
 
1. Your Google Maps listing
If young adults can’t find you, they won’t connect with you.

• 86% of consumers utilize Google Maps to find companies.
• 76% of local smartphone searches lead to a visit within a day.

One free and highly effective way to reach young adults is for a church to claim its Google Maps church listing. 
2. Your social media and live stream
3. Your website and/or app
4. Your church sign and branding 
5. Your church calendar and software
If everything’s important, nothing is.
6. Your discipleship communication 
Don’t advertise programs. Tell stories.
7. Your environments
8. Your people
Your greeters open more than doors; they open hearts.
9. Your authenticity
10. Your why
If your why is unclear, your what won’t matter.

• Churches that fail to communicate their mission drift into routines and programs.
• Young adults want purpose, not business.

P. J. Dunn, Commentary: 10 Ways to Scare Off Young Adults, The Christian Index, 8.26.25
https://christianindex.org/stories/commentary-10-ways-to-scare-off-young-adults-from-your-church,103756
 

A Word to the Wise: 12 Ways a Local Church Can Help a Missionary (Chuck Lawless)
 

1. Actually pray for them. 
2. Plan your trips with their input. 
3. Make a long-term commitment to work with them. 
4. Ask them what you can bring them.
5. Talk with them before you make commitments to national believers. 
6. Pray for the people they’re trying to reach. 
7. Actually read and respond to their newsletter and emails. 
8. Take seriously their requests about not posting or forwarding materials. 
9. Talk with them regularly. 
10. Provide housing and an automobile while they’re in the States. 
11. Give sacrificially to missions offerings. 
12. Pray for them some more. 

Chuck Lawless, 8.13.25, https://chucklawless.com/2025/08/8481/
​

A Word to the Wise: James Clear

It is common to think about what you would like to accomplish. It is less common to think about what must be discarded to make space for your new endeavors. The time must come from somewhere. What do you need to give up to make space for what you would like to achieve?

James Clear, 7.31.25, 3-2-1 Thursday

A Word to the Wise: 12 Things I’ve Learned About Corporate Worship (Chuck Lawless)
 

1. Many believers have never considered/studied the importance of worship. 
2. Worship is more than singing. 
3. Yet, song choice matters. 
4. Worship can be legitimately expressive. 
5. The end of the service is just the beginning. 
6. Sometimes the service simply gets us to a place of worship. 
7. The announcements almost always get in the way. 
8. Sin always gets in the way. 
9. Baptism matters. 
10. The Lord’s Supper must be more than an “add on.” 
11. We give too little attention to a response time
12. No response to God is still a response. 

Chuck Lawless, 8.1.25, https://chucklawless.com/2025/08/things-ive-learned-about-corporate-worship/
 

A Word to the Wise: 10 Really Hard Prayers to Pray (Chuck Lawless)
 

1. “Lord, if you don’t forgive the people I lead, blot me out of your book, too.” Moses’ prayer of Exodus 32:32 for his rebellious, idolatrous people is an expression of leadership love hard to achieve. Who is that rebellious person you must love intensely in this way? 
2. “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. I have done evil in your sight.” All of us know we must confess our sin, but I suspect that not many of us deeply grieve our sin like David did in Psalm 51. What sins must you lament and confess to God today?
3. “Father, I consecrate myself so that others may be sanctified in truth.” Jesus’ words in John 17:19 were His commitment to go the cross so others might follow the Father fully and faithfully. Do you so walk in holiness today that if others modeled their life after yours, you would be pleased to stand before the Father?
4. “Lord God, answer me, answer me, that the people may know that you are God.” That’s the risky, passionate prayer of Elijah when he confronted the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18:37—and it’s a prayer of faith that challenges us. What’s the issue in your life for which you must ardently plead with God to make himself known? 
5. “I could almost wish to be accursed if that’s what it takes for ________ to be saved.” That’s Paul’s expression of his heart in Romans 9:1-3. Whom do you love with that depth of love? Whose name would you put in the blank?
6. “Here am I, Lord, send me.” No evidence in Isaiah 6:8 suggests that Isaiah yet knew how hard his mission would be, but he nevertheless volunteered to be God’s spokesperson. Apparently, seeing the holiness of God makes one willing to do anything He demands. Are you willing to say, “Lord, send me” even if He doesn’t give you all the details?
7. “Please bless ________, who has mistreated me.” Again, you fill in the blank. Obedience to Jesus’ words in Luke 6:28 means that we love our enemies and pray for those who hurt us. Who’s that person for you today? 
8. “God, I thank You for this never-ending, always aching, ever-before-me thorn in my side.” Paul showed us in 2 Corinthians 12:10 why we need to pray this prayer—it is in our weakness that God is most glorified as our strength. Do you delight in the thorn in your life today?
9. “Not my will, but yours be done.” This is the Luke 22:42 “blank check” prayer that says, “God, I’m yours, whatever that means, wherever that takes me, no matter the cost.” Can you really give God a blank check today and be a leader who follows Him with abandon?
10. “Even so, come Lord Jesus.” The Bible ends with this prayer of John in Revelation 22:20. Knowing all that Jesus’ return means—not only our being with Him eternally in heaven, but also our standing before Him to answer for our lives—can you genuinely pray this prayer today?

Spend some time with the Lord today. Which of these prayers do you most need to pray? 
https://chucklawless.com/2025/07/10-really-hard-prayers-to-pray/
​

​A Word to the Wise from James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits
 
Be forgiving with your past self. What's done is done. Take the lessons with you and release the guilt.
Be strict with your present self. Win the moment in front of you right now.
Be flexible with your future self. There are many paths to success. You don't need life to be a certain way to live well.
 
Life is always progressing to the next stage. As you enter a new season, habits that previously served you well may need to be refreshed or adjusted. Which one of your current habits have you outgrown and is in need of a change?
James Clear, 7.17.25, 3-2-1 Thursday 

A Word to the Wise: 10 Reasons Why The Unchurched or Newly-Churched May Not Come to Your Small Group (Chuck Lawless)

1. They don’t even know a “small group” is.  
2. They don’t know what happens in a small group. 
3. They may not know anybody else well.  
4. They know what they don’t know. 
5. They fear they’ll be put on the spot.  
6. They worry the small group will be a personal counseling session.
7. They don’t understand “church lingo.”  
8. They’ve heard “horror stories” from others. 
9. They’ve had their own bad experiences.
10. Sometimes they’re just introverted. 

Chuck Lawless, 7.10.25, 10 Reasons Why The Unchurched or Newly-Churched May Not Come to Your Small Group
​

A Word to the Wise: 15 “Nots” to Remember as You Attend Church (Chuck Lawless)
 
Getting ready to gather with God’s people is an important step before you go to church this weekend. Here are 15 “not’s” to remember as you go:

1. I have not prepared for worship if I haven’t prayed beforehand.
2. Church is not about me.
3. The pew/seat/chair where I sit every Sunday is not my space. 
4. I cannot worship well if I have unconfessed, unforsaken sin in my life.
5. Worship through music is not about my preferences.
6. I have not given sacrificially to God’s work until it costs me something.
7. I do not know all the burdens my pastor carries to the pulpit.
8. The Bible is not just a book.
9. The Word that will be preached is not for someone else only; it’s also for me. 
10. I’m not likely to hear the Word well if I’m not listening. 
11. The gospel is not intended to make me feel comfortable.
12. Not responding in some way to the preached Word is, in fact, a response. 
13. If nothing changes in my life after the service, I have not genuinely worshiped God.
14. Many believers around the world will not have the privilege of worshiping that I have. 
15. Satan, the enemy of God who wants to distract me from worshiping, will ultimately not win in my life. 

https://chucklawless.com/2025/07/15-nots-to-remember-as-you-attend-church-this-weekend/

A Word to the Wise: 
 
Start with the best opportunity available to you. If you make the most of what you have in front of you right now, better opportunities will become available as you go along.
James Clear, 6.26.25, 3-2-1 Thursday

A Word to the Wise: Why Great Leaders Know When to Pass the Baton (Jim Sheppard)
 
There’s a point in every leader’s life when the bravest move isn’t charging forward—it’s stepping aside.
Not because the mission has changed.
Not because you’ve run out of vision.
But because the role you’ve played needs to evolve - for the sake of the mission, and for the good of the people carrying it forward.
 
Most leaders don’t like talking about succession. Especially in ministry, the line between “calling” and “identity” can get blurry. We don’t just do the work - we carry it. And after years of pouring our hearts into something, the idea of handing it off feels… unthinkable.
But here’s the truth:

Healthy succession isn’t a threat to great leadership. It’s the evidence of it.
1. Succession Isn’t an Exit Strategy. It’s a Leadership Discipline.
Waiting until you're “ready” to leave is too late. Great leaders think succession early and often. Not because they’re planning their escape, but because they’re building something that lasts. If you're not intentionally raising up future leaders, you're not leading - you're just managing a moment.
2. Your Successor Shouldn’t Be a Clone.
If the next leader has to imitate you to succeed, you didn’t raise up a leader - you trained a mimic. True succession means continuity of mission, not personality. Make room for the new leader to lead in their own voice. And cheer them on, publicly and privately.
3. Trust Is the Bridge—Not the Plan.
You can have the best succession strategy in the world, but if trust isn’t present, it’ll collapse. Your people need to see that you trust your successor. That trust becomes the currency the team trades in during the transition. No trust? No chance.
4. You’ll Feel Things. That’s Okay.
Succession can stir up all kinds of emotion - grief, pride, joy, fear, even a bit of envy. That’s part of the process. Let yourself feel it. Celebrate what’s been. Honor what’s changing. And thank God for what’s next.
Jim Sheppard, 6.25.25, Church Leader Insider, Why Great Leaders Know When to Pass the Baton