By Bill Wilson It was a very impressive group of church leaders. Clergy and laity alike, they were successful and savvy men and women who had been patiently listening to me make repeated invitations to engage in a spiritual-discernment process…
Third-pig thinking
By Bill Wilson Remember the story of the Three Little Pigs? Sent out by their mother to make their way in the world, they live in fear of the Big Bad Wolf. Their first order of business is to build…
Change happens
By Bill Wilson Are you tired of the doomsday rhetoric about the church in America? Have you noticed that the bandwagon of those predicting the imminent demise of congregational life is filled to capacity? Are you ready to tune out…
Change happens
By Bill Wilson Are you tired of the doomsday rhetoric about the church in America? Have you noticed that the bandwagon of those predicting the imminent demise of congregational life is filled to capacity? Are you ready to tune out…
Change happens
By Bill Wilson Are you tired of the doomsday rhetoric about the church in America? Have you noticed that the bandwagon of those predicting the imminent demise of congregational life is filled to capacity? Are you ready to tune out…
The oxbow church
By Bill Wilson A friend was recently talking about an organization that is struggling to adapt to some very necessary changes. While not a church, the observation she made about their inability to adjust to a changing world rings true…
Success or significance?
By Bill Wilson Novelist Walker Percy often said that the trouble with most people is that they are not up to anything significant. In his book Halftime: Moving From Success to Significance, Bob Buford suggests that many of us come…
How to ruin a sermon (or not)
By Bill Wilson Good preaching comes in a myriad of forms in a multitude of settings. Don’t let anyone fool you: there is no one way to preach a sermon, as the diversity of styles that have developed over the…
A Corvette kind of church
By Bill Wilson One effect of growing up in 20th century America is that I love cars. Early on, I got the fever. I played with them as a kid, worked on them, collected them, admired them and dreamed of…
Cultivating a culture of call
By Bill Wilson Nearly all observers of the 21st-century church in America agree that the next generation of leadership is a cause for concern. Many write, blog, tweet and generally lament the state of leadership cultivation and training, or lack…
Resistant or resilient?
By Bill Wilson Two of the more important words for a congregation to ponder in the 21st century are resistant and resilient. Which of those two words better describe your congregation may well determine whether your congregation is viable in…
Resistant or resilient?
By Bill Wilson Two of the more important words for a congregation to ponder in the 21st century are resistant and resilient. Which of those two words better describe your congregation may well determine whether your congregation is viable in…