Have you ever experienced a migraine headache? Across my life, I have struggled with occasional migraines. Thankfully, they have diminished in both frequency and intensity over the years. Mine are always preceded by significant distortion in my field of vision….
What do we mean by church growth?
In the wake of increasingly ominous data about fledgling church attendance, most church members and ministers (myself included) want to see the church grow instead of decline. There are church growth handbooks, church growth conferences, and even church growth consultants….
Prairie burning and new life
On a recent road trip through southern Kansas, I witnessed a spring rite, the burning of the prairie. The billowing smoke and red glow of distant fires are quite the vista — and a sign of renewal. The distinctive smell…
When sticky church becomes stuck church
By George Bullard A ministry acquaintance of mine, Larry Osborne of North Coast Church, an Evangelical Free Church in Vista, Calif., wrote a book several years ago called Sticky Church. The book makes the case that closing the back door…
Congregational vision is about seeing Jesus with your heart, soul, mind, and strength
My mother, Mozelle Bridgers Bullard, was a person of great Christian vision and insight. She could see Jesus with her heart, soul, mind, and strength even when she could not see him with her eyes. Among the many ministries she…
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…
What is the direction and diversity of collaboration among Christian Ministries?
Building on the foundation of two earlier articles, let’s now address the direction and diversity of collaboration. The first article was Compete or Collaborate: The Dilemmas for Christian Ministries, and the second was Critical Understanding About Collaboration for Christian Ministries….
Compete or collaborate
The Dilemma for Christian Ministries I have encountered several situations recently where it appeared Christian ministries prefer to compete rather than collaborate. They wanted the success of their own ministry or congregation or denomination rather than the significance of kingdom…
What do lay leaders say about their dying congregations?
We have often heard stories of what people say on their deathbed about the wise, not so wise, and foolish ways they spent their life. Recently I wondered about what lay leaders might say about their dying congregations. My focus…