I was early to Fred Craddock’s funeral. Cherry Log Christian Church is less than two hours from Atlanta, but a trip to Appalachia seems farther so I gave myself way too much time. I had been told to eat at…
10 ways to increase value of and engagement in church participation, part 1
A noticeable and disturbing trend that is beginning to catch the attention of church consultants, coaches and denominational leaders is that believers are losing interest in church. Not only is there an avoidance of church by many unbelievers, there is…
The multi-church movement
Upon reading the title of this article, you might wonder, “Does he really mean ‘multi-church’ and not ‘multi-site’?” Nope! The multi-church movement is taking hold in England and is serving rural congregations exceptionally well. The Arthur Rank Center (a rural-church…
When churches want a pastor who can ‘bring in young families’
. please consider sharing this post. Almost every church I’ve ever known has wanted to Attract Young Families. The reasoning behind this includes the following: If we don’t regenerate, everyone will eventually get old and die. It’s energizing to have…
Elijahs and Elishas
The handoff from one pastor to the next is always tricky. For everyone. I’m basically at the start of my career. Now we pastor-types don’t like to use such crass professional terminology, preferring to say “calling” or “vocation” or “ministry”…
A minister to median adult households trumps a youth minister
Did you get a chance to read my post on having a minister to young adult households trumps having a minister to children? For those of you who thought that was an interesting approach worth considering, how would you feel…
Should a pastor know what church members give?
Every time I teach a stewardship workshop or class, this question invariably comes up: “Should a pastor have access to contribution records?” In some congregations, pastors are prohibited from knowing what people contribute. In others, pastors choose to shield themselves…
The alternative to a senior pastor
I never wanted to be a senior pastor. Well, that’s not the whole truth. When senior pastors would introduce me by saying, “this is my education man,” it crossed my mind to be senior pastor – in an alternative way!…
New pastors, small churches
Update March 2015: The program described in this story has been renamed Small Church Residency Program. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), like many denominations, has two challenges: thousands of small churches in need of pastors and hundreds of new seminary graduates…