A few years ago a friend was telling me his weight loss strategy.

He had all of the stats on eliminating carbs and eating lean protein.

There was just one problem: He was eating a Big Mac while he was telling me this (and the dude as close to 100 pounds overweight).

Whenever I hear about another “church growth consultant” who has the latest theory about growing a church, I think of my McDonald’s-loving buddy.

I hear the consultant’s strategy for how he’s going to help the church grow and I think, “He’s just like the fat guy who giving diet advice.”

Here’s my advice to you: Listen carefully to the guys who are in the trenches everyday leading churches and be careful of the guys who have never done it. 

It’s like learning to swim online (did you know there are websites that can claim they can teach you to swim from the privacy of your home office?).

I’m sorry, but if someone is teaching people to swim and water isn’t involved, run for your life.

As a pastor who is leading a church and in the middle of a multi-million dollar building project after over a decade of being a portable church, I know what it’s like to start a church from scratch. 

I know the pressure of leadership and the weight of teaching every Sunday.

If someone doesn’t understand that, they probably don’t understand you.