Life can stagger you like that sometimes. We live in a world of lightning strikes, both literal and relational, intentional and random.
All tagged change
Jesus and a Detached Retina
You need Jesus. For the hard times—and there will be hard times. And in the good times. You need your church family. God hears. God answers. God heals.
An Environment that Nurtures Faith
As churches seek to support the development of a lifelong embedded faith, it will undoubtedly be a journey that requires perseverance and a willingness to challenge practices.
The Particular Challenge of Older Congregations
Folk who study congregations speak of congregations having a “life cycle.” If you’re thinking that your church might be one of them, let’s take a deeper look.
Most Church Leaders Aren’t Made for This Moment, but Help Is Nearby
If church leadership is centralized within a small cadre of people who may think alike, they may find it difficult to operate in shifting domains.
Fewer Church Splits, More Church Plants
Many churches are wrestling with new ways to interpret Scripture. Here are a few realities that will happen when leadership decides to go in a new direction.
Leadership in Complex Times
What sort of leadership is needed in this time of complexity and uncertainty? I want to explore some implications of Complexity Leadership Theory (CLT) for congregational life.
Reflection Roundup: Joy Bomb
Our youngest son’s birthday is next week. When he first arrived on the scene, he emanated joy from within. Still does! How might we bomb those around us with joy this week?
Twenty Years of Congregational Change: The 2020 Faith Communities Today Overview
Summarized responses from 15,278 congregations and 80 denominations or religious groups resulted in the largest national survey of congregations ever conducted in the U.S.
The OODA Loop and the Overflow of the Heart
How can we apply the OODA loop – observe, orient, decide, act – to congregational leadership?
The Challenge and Opportunity of Discontinuous Change
During a time of re-imagination, these challenges can open new doors and help us see our communities in a new light.
Reflection Roundup: Trauma as Teacher
Because of your protection, I sing. I stay close to you; your right hand supports me.
Reflection Roundup: Inhale Grace, Exhale Compassion
We’re all about savoring the moments as they come for the wonderment they contain, regardless of what was expected or seems comparatively lacking.
Leadership for Innovation
We have spiritualized or prioritized the methods over the mission to the point that we think they are one and the same.
A Journey of Inclusion (Part 1)
Inclusion means that the congregation embraces the inherent value in all voices and seeks to make them an active part of the whole.
For Elders Who Are Worried about the Conflict That Gender Inclusion Will Cause, Read This
From my experience, resistance to gender inclusion was far more about fear, conflict, and change than anything else.
One Thing Never Changes!
In a time when things are changing rapidly, the one thing that brings order in the chaos is the thing that does not change.
The Subject of Our Fears: Finding Faith in an Anxious World
The hope of Christianity embraces a world of hopelessness. Ours is the most real hope of all, because death sits at its center.
Canoeing or Hiking? The Face of the Future for Church Leaders
As explorers in new territory, we will need to rely on other explorers as we learn to follow well the presence of God’s spirit.
Discipleship or Spiritual Formation? Time to Embrace One and Shelve the Other
Spiritual formation is a good and helpful way of describing our faith development. Discipleship calls us deeper.