When churches turn on themselves, things get very ugly very quickly. As if it weren’t already hard enough to be and do church in this culture, we face an exponential increase in internal congregational conflict and turmoil. American Christians are…
The church’s missional focus: Tourist, traveler or pilgrim?
In our Lilly-funded Project Thrive endeavors, we have outlined seven key traits of thriving churches. It comes as no surprise that one of those is “missional focus,” meaning the ability to keep the congregation focused on its highest priorities. It…
Continuing our retreat from Jesus
This is a photo of me with my father in the upper deck of the New Orleans Superdome at the Southern Baptist Convention in June 1990. We were two of the nearly 40,000 messengers who gathered that year for a…
We need a new set of metrics for the spiritual life
I recently found this photo of my mom standing with my sisters and me on an Easter Sunday morning around 1964. Aside from my stunning fashion statement, I want to point out the Bible firmly grasped in my right hand….
Remembering Bob Dale, who helped us learn to dream again
With the news of Bob Dale’s passing late last week, a torrent of stories, testimonials and heart-felt grief has been flowing on social media and in conversations across the nation. The number of people who have stories to tell about…
‘We’re done educating you’
His words brought me up short. Gregg Neel is co-pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Portland, Ore. He was our guest on our weekly webinar, talking about how his church has decided to come out of the pandemic accelerating into…
Moving churches from risk management to risk-taking
On this one-year anniversary of the start of the COVID pandemic, it seems appropriate to take stock and assess the American church. For many of us, the year has been the challenge of a lifetime in ministry leadership. The obstacles…
Finding resilience in the midst of COVID fatigue
I hear it in breathless conversations with ministers in multiple settings: “I’m exhausted. How can I be this tired when most of what I do is talk on the phone or to a screen?” “I’m running out of ideas about…
Let’s be honest about spiritual discernment in churches
For many years, I have been a fierce proponent of churches using spiritual discernment as they navigate their futures. In hundreds of settings, across multiple denominations (and no denominations), in city/urban/suburban/rural locations, across all aspects of the theological spectrum, I…
Seek to become a ‘trauma-informed congregation’ in November forward
In recent years, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has become a highly visible part of our culture, and generalized trauma has emerged as a consistent issue for clergy and churches. The majority of Americans have experienced a significant trauma in their…
Church leaders, please don’t waste your transition crisis
What would you say is the best gift a transitional pastor can give a congregation? Most traditional interim training programs land heavily on the idea that the primary task of a church in transition is dealing with grief. Thus, much…
The train of conflict is coming to a church near you
As a child, my neighborhood friends and I loved to play on a train track near our house. Foolish, I know, but quite fun and exhilarating. We learned to tell when a train was coming long before it actually appeared….