Remember “average Sunday attendance”? If you are the lucky one in your church who completes forms to send to your denomination, you recognize this metric. During the modern era (up to around the year 2000), this metric was a fairly…
Who moved the front door to the church?
A funny thing happened while we were socially distanced, worshiping online. When we returned to the church building, the front door was not where we left it, nor was it the same size. Instead, we found multiple doors resembling the…
Four common approaches to church after COVID separation
If you are re-evaluating your relationship with church, you are not alone. As we move from online worship and distanced activities to in-person church life, many decision moments come our way. This return to in-person church activities is a major…
Six church invitations young people reject
Right there in the want ads for pastors. Right there in their strategic plans. Right there in their requests for services from our organization or calls to their denominational offices. No subtlety, no nuance, no hesitation; putting it right out…
How to shrink your church
There are few things in life one can guarantee. Nevertheless, here’s one for which I’m very close to issuing written guarantees. When your aspiration is to shrink your church, there’s one strategy that stands head and shoulders above all others….
Four viruses of the pre-COVID church and their vaccines
Romans 8:28 says God works all things together for good, not that God causes all things. I suspect God is even more grieved over this coronavirus afflicting this world than any of us, given God’s great love for humankind. So,…
Your church’s purpose is not to make you happy
Your church’s purpose is not to make you happy. Your church’s purpose is to help you become like Jesus. Expect the former and live disappointed. Expect the latter and live with deep satisfaction and significance. This conversation has happened enough…
Emotional contagion begins with church leadership
Emotions are not our faith. Our faith is our faith. Yet, emotions are powerful forces in faith communities, especially in one whose primary metaphor is “body.” We are at our best when we are one body, the body of Christ,…
‘Yes, and’: A response to stories of pastoral angst in the present moment
How many articles and blog posts have come across your computer screen recently describing the angst of pastoral leaders? It seems nearly every author, blogger, denominational minister, coach, consultant and anyone else who serves alongside pastors and church staff persons…