As of Friday, November 8, 2013 various Christian disaster response organizations were rushing to prepare their response to the Typhoon Haiyan hitting the Philippines. In some cases they were moving forward alone feeling they could respond best by using their…
Congregations need sabbatical and jubilee
Congregations need a hopeful learning season that will help them see the same things they have seen for many years in a different way. This gives them insight into what it will take to continually transform congregational life. Likely this…
They want their next pastor to do what?
Beyond the ability to be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, what else do congregations want from their next senior or solo pastor? At the request…
Does your pastor need a doctorate?
I just heard a story about another medium-sized church in a small town where a personnel committee desired above all that their next pastor have the title “Dr.” in front of his name. And I found myself thinking, “How uneducated.”…
Competing with big box churches
There’s a “big box” church in our town that’s all the rage. If you live anywhere in America that’s even slightly urban, there’s probably a big box church in your area as well. By “big box” I mean the kind…
What you don’t know about Millennials
The Baby Boomer generation is often thought as the generation that worked hard, helped get us where we are, and was the backbone of the 20th century. Now that Baby Boomers are retiring, many have asked the question, “Who will…
It’s official: the term ‘Mainline Christian’ stinks
It is well established that Mainline Christian denominations are shrinking. According to several prominent Christian practitioners and thinkers, the term “Mainline Christian” officially… well, sucks. That is my interpretation. The indelible Carol Howard Merritt is one of the growing movement of…
Clergy discouragement and satisfaction: part two
In my last post, I covered five factors that contribute to clergy discouragement. Now I want to turn to the other side of the story: clergy satisfaction. I believe six habits fuel legitimate clergy satisfaction. Worship the God we preach,…
Clergy discouragement and satisfaction: part one
Recently, I’ve read a number of posts on various sites dealing with the topics of clergy discouragement and satisfaction. For what it may prove worth, I’ll add my observations to the conversation. Let’s start with discouragement. Based on my own…