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…
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…
Jesus on strategic planning
By Bill Wilson Building a congregation’s life around a clear vision and purpose is an easy thing to believe in. Aligning that purpose with biblical teaching and witness is an agreeable notion. I seldom encounter a leader or leadership group…
Jesus on strategic planning
By Bill Wilson Building a congregation’s life around a clear vision and purpose is an easy thing to believe in. Aligning that purpose with biblical teaching and witness is an agreeable notion. I seldom encounter a leader or leadership group…
So, you want to be a minister?
Creatively outrageous congregations
By Bill Wilson I recently heard an interview with George Lois, a leader in the advertising world in the 1950s who helped revolutionize the industry. His innovations transformed advertising and made several of his clients into household names. I found…
The rise of church discipline
By Bill Wilson Have you noticed our tendency to try and control others with rules? We started with Ten Commandments. That led to Jewish scholars noting that the Torah actually contains 613 commandments, which can be divided into 365 “negative…
New clergy deserve a chance
By Bill Wilson A recent column on the surge of churches calling pastors in their fifth decade evoked a wide range of responses. Many came from mid-career clergy who offered a hearty “Amen” and were grateful for the news that…
Can we have2 a healthier search process?
By Bill Wilson An increasing part of my life is spent advising and coaching pastor search committees. A healthy search process requires great patience, spiritual maturity and hard work. Done well, it can lead to a season of hope and…