We will never find joy in church membership when we are constantly seeking things our way. But paradoxically, we will find the greatest joy when we choose to be last. That's what Jesus meant when He said the last will be first. True joy means giving up our rights and preferences and serving everyone else.

Faith and optimism are contagious.

We will never find joy in church membership when we are constantly seeking things our way. But paradoxically, we will find the greatest joy when we choose to be last. That's what Jesus meant when He said the last will be first. True joy means giving up our rights and preferences and serving everyone else.

Passion means making the choice to do that for which we can make the greatest difference. It means saying no to opportunities that may be good but not the best. It means that the best path is not always the easiest path.

Some churches would rather die than to get out of the comfort of the past.

Weak leaders of churches blame people and circumstances. Breakout church leaders accept responsibility and see God's possibilities in even difficult situations.

Churches should evaluate everything they do to determine how it can be done better.