By Bill Wilson Let’s start with a disclaimer. Congregations and restaurants are not in the same business. Thinking like a restaurant can lead to embracing the consumer culture of the day. Catering to expectations has been the death knell of…
What’s on your menu?
By Bill Wilson Let’s start with a disclaimer. Congregations and restaurants are not in the same business. Thinking like a restaurant can lead to embracing the consumer culture of the day. Catering to expectations has been the death knell of…
Changes come to midweek church
By Jeff Brumley The look and feel of the Wednesday night church service is beginning to change as congregations – at least the ones trying to survive – seek to become more intentional and relevant to the communities they serve,…
Copy of Changes come to midweek church [Special]
By Jeff Brumley The look and feel of the Wednesday night church service is beginning to change as congregations – at least the ones trying to survive – seek to become more intentional and relevant to the communities they serve,…
‘Rock of Ages,’ draft for me
By Amy Butler When I was little my mom would occasionally leave us for an evening in the sole care of my father, who was tasked with the dinnertime routine for five kids. To keep things interesting, Dad would try…
Accompany them … with food
By Molly T. Marshall I had opportunity to see the Body of Christ at its best these past weeks. A faithful member of my Sunday school class has been concluding his nearly three-year struggle with cancer. With grace and dignity,…
Accompany them … with food
By Molly T. Marshall I had opportunity to see the Body of Christ at its best these past weeks. A faithful member of my Sunday school class has been concluding his nearly three-year struggle with cancer. With grace and dignity,…
Describe a healthy pastor search process, please
By Bill Wilson The search process for a new pastor is both an exhilarating and a risky time for a congregation. Healthy congregations go at this task from the framework of a spiritual discernment process that is unique to the…
Thinking inside the box
By Amy Butler The leadership art of “thinking outside the box” sounds progressive and cutting-edge. Everybody is talking these days about thinking outside the box, but the reality of the practice is not all that glamorous. I prefer the leadership…
Forgetting the Bible
By Amy Butler Lately I have been thinking a lot about the Bible. This is not surprising given my line of work, I know, but the truth of the matter is that the Bible sometimes gets lost in the busyness…
One-eared Mickey
By Felicia Fox I have been in youth ministry for over 12 years. In college I was introduced to the One-Eared Mickey Mouse Model of youth ministry. I ran into it again while earning my master’s of divinity with a…
Church aids widow facing eviction
By Jeff Brumley Mary Cate Jones never doubted her congregation would help when it learned she faced a foreclosure crisis last month. But raising $35,000 in the last two weeks of May and finding a donor to match the rest?…