The pandemic is ushering us into liminal space – one that differs from the immediate past but is not yet whatever the future may eventually be.
All in Carson Reed
Is Church Essential?
Regardless of whether you can gather soon with members of your local flock, the nagging question remains: “What is essential about being the church?”
Pandemic and Protest: Musings on the Lord’s Prayer
What does it mean to pray the Lord’s Prayer in these days, as the pandemic now shares the stage with visible and often violent social unrest?
Back to Normal or Toward New Possibilities
Is going back to what used to be really possible? And – listen closely, church leaders – is going back to what used to be really desirable?
Uncertainty and Hope
We believe that God is faithful, that hope is our lifeblood, and that the future is bound up not in our past but in God’s work of transformation.
The Future Is Coming Quickly
What is church supposed to look like when the primary expressions of congregational life and ministry and mission are no longer available to us?
Dark Season, Renewed Hope
What will follow this season remains to be seen, but it will certainly alter what church looks like and how we practice the way of Jesus. What should leaders do as we enter into this uncertain and challenging time?
Passion Week Meditation
What’s a congregation to do? In these days of sheltering in place and quarantine and physical distancing, who is going to show up and celebrate an empty tomb?
Things, New and Old: A Reflection on Wineskins
It may be that we have let our love of old things get in the way of our love for the creative power of God breaking into our world.
Exploring Generational Differences in Our Churches
The important move is to encourage church leaders to more directly involve younger adults in the discernment processes of leadership.
Discerning a Path for Renewal
Rather than rush from one thing to another, healthy churches live with meaning and intentionality, doing what they do with excellence.
Leadership Structures for Local Congregations
In far too many places, the structure of leadership—the way in which decisions and deliberations are handled—creates obstacles for the congregation’s mission.
Renewal Begins: Another Congregation’s Journey
Church revitalization is quite possible when a congregation acknowledges that, without the work of the Spirit, there is no future for us.
What Is Most Important?
These reasons for growth transcend simply being at the right place at the right time.
Realism and Hope
If restoration means something for those of us who are part of a restoration tradition, then it’s time to reimagine what we mean by the term.
What’s Baptism Got to Do with Leadership?
We fail to understand baptism unless we understand that baptism marks us as disciples of Jesus Christ who obey his calling every single day.
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.
Three Dimensions of Leadership for Growing (and Dying) Churches!
Leaders who practice these three dimensions will be well positioned to act as dynamic partners with God in kingdom activity.
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.
Mission Evidences from the Field: What Do Healthy Growing Churches Look Like?
What are the characteristics of newly planted churches that are thriving?