“Is that we are called to do? Create a place where everyone knows your name? Did Jesus call us to build a Christian version of Cheers?” Those are the words of Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of the Church of the…
Vision is a movement of God that is memorable
How do you define vision? If you cannot define it, you may not know what it is when you have it. Vision is not the same as mission. The eternal mission of a congregation is the timeless understanding of the…
Congregational vision is a grace gift of God that we discern
When I first started consulting on vision I had a very left-brained approach. This was natural for me, because I am a hopelessly left-brained person. This meant I focused more on the vision statement than on the characteristics or qualities…
Congregations without vision cannot see Jesus
Seeing Jesus is a powerful image in the New Testament. Matthew 25:37-40 as an example says, “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?…
Churchless Believers: Searching for mystery, not the mission of church
There is a difference between ‘church work’ and ‘the work of the church’. For many churchless believers, they are weary of the ‘busyness of churchwork’ and hungry to engage the mystery of the ‘work of the church’. The ‘work of…
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…
Your congregation needs to know what Lyle Schaller taught me about vision
The father of post World War II practical church consulting, Lyle Schaller, was my most significant consulting mentor and spoke prophetically into my life. He taught me amazing things about congregations, how to consult with them, and how to bring…
Churchless Believers: A fresh path for engaging inactive members
A notable prevalent trend among church life is about half or more of members are absent from church services on any given week. In fact, in many traditions, most cannot even locate half or more of their membership. Could it…
Churchless believers – Searching for anchors for the next phase of life
Churchless believers is an unfolding conversation I’m having with some colleagues, neighbors, friends and churches. The more we talk, the more dimensions appear that intrigue me and help me understand and possibly explain some of what is going on in…