Rather than spending time judging others so that we feel better about ourselves, we are called to go out and find those who have wandered from God’s dream for their life and bring them back to the life God intended for them.
Most church ‘visioning’ efforts fail: how your church can succeed
When the visionary rhetoric of a vibrant future collides with the realities of established precedents, facilities, job titles or traditional methods, the result is conflict. This is where many congregational visioning processes get derailed.
Finances and staff: a difficult but necessary conversation for churches
Whatever we believe the Kingdom is to look like in the coming season of our congregation’s life is what reigns supreme when it comes to priorities for facilities, staff, structures and finances.
What does effective, Christ-like leadership look like in today’s ministry climate?
Seminary students and their seminar teacher created a list of eight key characteristics of effective leadership in congregational ministry.
Worth fighting over: insights about churches and change
While the Church’s core message will never change, the methodologies for practicing our faith will be in a constant state of change for the rest of our life. The changes we will go through in our near future will make our squabbles over matters such as new technology or screens in the sanctuary look laughable.
Daring to change our mind, for the sake of the church
What might it look like if we were to become genuinely open to the idea of changing our mind?
The 8 deadly sins of the Church
Those churches that define and differentiate themselves in a healthy way will be the ones that have a chance to manage the challenges of the 21st century successfully. Those who do not will probably not survive past mid-century.
How do congregations cultivate a culture of call to vocational ministry?
What is it about the culture of those churches that encourages a call to ministry among their members? How do they create a “culture of call” that invites parishioners to consider deeply the possibility that God may be leading them into vocational ministry?
Remembering a staff colleague prompts questions about healthy church staffs
I’m conducting a memorial service this week for a former staff colleague, and it has caused me to give thought to what makes for a healthy relationship between ministerial staff members. Ken Denton was, for 24 years, the gifted minister…