Matt Cook, a former moderator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and a long-time pastor, will join the Center for Healthy Churches as full-time assistant director on Sept. 1, the organization announced today.
Angry that the religious right has hijacked the word ‘evangelical’? Let it go, experts say
Thinking of ditching the term “evangelical” to identify yourself as Christian? Get in line. Clergy, scholars, congregational coaches and innumerable laypeople are expressing increasing anger and disgust that the once respected term no longer describes their commitment to Christ and church.
Small churches ideal for Millennials if members, pastors avoid temptation to isolate
It isn’t easy being a small church. Their pastors and members know it all too well. They are usually under-resourced — fewer members often means fewer dollars, fewer teachers and lay leaders, fewer books, workshops and experts focused to overcoming their…
21st century ministry: Like growing potatoes on Mars
While engaged in a conversation with some of my closest colleagues about the changes and challenges of pastoral ministry, Bill Wilson, Director of the Center for Healthy Churches, made a comment that summarized some thoughts that had been simmering in…
Is your church enlarging its bandwidth?
It was a simple question from a CHC colleague: “Larry, do you have enough bandwidth to help me with a church staff analysis?” Initially, I had no idea what he was asking. “Bandwidth?” I had to catch up with the…
Churches unhappy with pastors should look in the mirror, consultants say
By Brian Kaylor Church health consultants share common stories about churches that have burned through several pastors in just a few years. During the consulting process, a deacon or other lay leader says something like “we just can’t find a…
5 reasons we should complain
As a minister and a father, I’m accustomed to hearing people complain, especially my kids. Such phrases as, “I don’t want to go to bed,” or “This sandwich is yucky,” or “My sister is bothering me,” are repeated on a…
Center for Healthy Churches relocating to Tennessee
By Bob Allen The Center for Healthy Churches, an organization formed last year after Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center announced it would phase out its 21-year-old Center for Congregational Health, is moving from North Carolina to Tennessee in a new partnership…
David Hull to join the Center for Healthy Churches
By Bob Allen A veteran Baptist pastor who stepped down in April after his wife became a pastor in another town has accepted a new role with a consulting firm devoted to improving the spiritual, emotional and organizational health of…