By George Bullard Recently a long-term ministry acquaintance contacted me for advice about his congregation. He had retired from his religious publishing position and moved to the other side of the country. During his life he had been a member…
Pastors are only one of five keys to visionary leadership
By George Bullard Often congregations put high pressure on their senior or solo pastor to be the originator of vision. It is a classic statement, and by no means an urban legend, that laypersons will say when a church is…
Steeples and Millennials — does church architecture matter?
By Jeff Brumley Chris Aho knows a thing or two about worshiping in contemporary spaces, like churches which meet in theaters, schools or former retail spaces. “There is a sense of young churches trying to take away all the symbolism…
When it comes to congregational vision, may you be with the source
With God as our source congregational vision is more than numbers
By George Bullard Let’s be certain about vision. It is not easy. The vast majority of pastors, staff persons and lay leaders have a really difficult time understanding vision. It is not second nature to them. Vision may be something…
God’s vision for congregations is not about me
God does not necessarily want your congregation to be successful, to grow big, to compete with others churches, to be the church with the best reputation, to have the most beautiful buildings, to have the friendliest people, to have 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…
Rise of post-Christians scares some, energizes others
By Jeff Brumley The Barna Group’s recent report of a sharp increase in the nation’s post-Christian population this year came as no surprise to Joy Yee, senior pastor at Nineteenth Avenue Baptist Church in San Francisco. Nor was she shocked…
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…