In Preaching Articles: "Signs"

7 Subtle Signs Your Church Is Dying

By Carey Nieuwhof on Feb 18, 2021

As with almost everything in life, there are subtle signs your peak may be near or you may be cresting past it. Other times, the signs of death are evident to everyone but the leaders. If you recognize the signs early enough, you can reverse the trend.

Tags: leadership, Preaching, Church Health, Leadership

Seven Signs A Sermon Is (Almost) Over

By Jon Acuff on Oct 28, 2020

Ending a sermon is harder than starting one. Clear, intentional conclusions prevent confusion, whiplash, and rushed prayers.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:2, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Colossians 4:6, James 1:22, 1 Corinthians 14:40  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, pastor, End, Homiletics, Pastor, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

7 Danger Signs Of A Discouraged Preacher

By Peter Mead on Nov 3, 2025

Perhaps this list can also help you pray for other preachers, or pastors in your church.

Scripture: Joshua 3:1-6

Tags: Preaching, preaching

3 Warning Signs That Leaders Are Not On Board

By Brandon Kelley on Mar 3, 2021

What happens when leaders get passionately divided? Church splits. Or worse.1 If leaders get divided and don’t reconcile, they can become viruses within the body of the local church that leads to a slow death.

Scripture: Romans 8:1-31

Tags: Preaching, leaders, preaching

8 Signs You May Be An Anxious Leader

By Charles Stone on Jun 27, 2024

These seven signs might indicate that your leadership is being negatively affected by how you handle your anxiety.

Scripture: Philippians 4:6

Tags: stress, leadership, Stress, Anxiety, pastoral leadership, worry and anxiety, Scripture Memory, Ministry Leadership, Leadership, anxiety  (view more)  (view less)

Should We Try To Please Our Listeners? How Much?

By Peter Mead on Sep 18, 2025

If listeners aren't satisfied, it could be a good sign, or it could be a bad sign. In the same way, happy listeners may mean something is wrong.

Tags: Preaching, Criticism, please, listener, Feedback, criticism, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

10 Warning Signs Of A Celebrity Christianity Mindset

By Jared Moore on Oct 6, 2025

The pursuit of popularity can quietly replace faithfulness in ministry. Pastors and Christian leaders must guard their hearts against celebrity ambition.

Scripture: Matthew 16:24, Galatians 1:10, John 3:30, 1 Peter 5:2-3, James 4:10  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, pastor, Popularity, celebrity, wannabe, Pastor, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

11 Signs Your Church Is Going Extinct

By Carey Nieuwhof on Nov 13, 2025

Unless you’re in a free fall right now, it can be hard to know whether your congregation will thrive, survive or take a dive in the next decade.

Scripture: 1 Samuel 2:1-11

Tags: Church, Preaching, preaching, church

5 Signs That You Need To Quit Something

By Charles Stone on Nov 29, 2023

Quitters never win and winners never quit was drilled into my mind at an early age. I believed it. I practiced it. I lived it. I only quit one thing in my life before age 18, my high school football team. I quit because I sat on the bench 99.976% of the time. Since, then, however, I’ve questioned the veracity of that phrase, as catchy as it may sound.

Tags: strategy, Overwhelmed, Busyness, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, giving up, quitting, Saying no  (view more)  (view less)

5 Signs You Are A Bounce Back Leader

By Charles Stone on Oct 17, 2024

What are the qualities of resilient leaders?

Tags: leadership, resilient, Leadership

3 Warning Signs Your Preaching May Be Missing The Gospel

By Peter Mead on Oct 12, 2021

A preacher may stand with a Bible in a church and still preach something less than the gospel. Watch for three warning signs that weaken truly Christian preaching.

Scripture: 1 Kings 18:21-39, Acts 17:22-31, Jeremiah 17:9, Matthew 15:18-19, Romans 3:23  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Sin, God, Preaching, Fail, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Thom Rainer: Ten Signs A Pastor Is Becoming A Chaplain

By SermonCentral .com on Jan 1, 2026

How do you strike the balance between ministering to people's needs or equipping the folk?

Scripture: Philippians 1:1

Tags: Preaching, preaching

4 Signs Your Church May Not Need Small Groups

By SermonCentral .com on Jan 14, 2021

When it comes to small groups, what works for big churches may not work for small churches.

Scripture: Psalm 69:1-25

Tags: Preaching

We Need A Clearer Vision Of Our Multi-Colored World

By SermonCentral .com on Dec 15, 2021

There is still plenty of racial tension remaining, fifty years after the signing of the Acts designed to put an end to it in America. As a matter of fact, ethnic tension exists almost universally around our planet. It’s not exclusively an American problem.

Tags: Sin, Divisions, racism, racial tensions

6 Ways To Grow In The Gospels

By William Boekestein on Apr 27, 2021

A number of years ago I was about to preach for the first time in a certain church. As I arranged my papers and books I noticed a sign near the top of the pulpit. It was a quotation from John 12:21: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

Scripture: Mark 9:7, Mark 15:1-15, Matthew 27:3, Mark 6:34, Acts 26:22-23, John 12:21, Matthew 14:20, Hebrews 12:2, John 11:15, Luke 24:44-45, Hebrews 1:1, Jeremiah 8:1-3  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Jesus, Biblical, preaching Christ, Preaching Gospels, Rakahanga gospel day  (view more)  (view less)