Why is it that lots of churches and their leaders work hard and pray fervently for a better future, yet never seem to get anywhere? The determining factor in congregational flourishing often comes down to attitudes. Change initiatives can grind to a halt when prevailing attitudes impede movement. But attitudes can change, and leaders who have an understanding of the anatomy of an attitude can help congregants reconsider and revise them. (Photo: Garry Knight, Creative Commons)
A lot of things can happen when a church experiences a money crunch, most of them bad. Can anything good come from a financial crisis? It depends on how you handle it. Good advice from ChurchLeaders.com. (Photo: Kat, Creative Commons)
As church attendance shrinks, wise congregations are reexamining how they welcome and integrate newcomers into community life. It’s not surprising that the congregations doing the best job are the ones growing. From Insights into Religion. (Photo: Dru Broomfield, Creative Commons)
People are leaving their churches because they feel excluded from participating in the communication of the message. They have heard countless sermons, but they grew weary, very weary, of sitting in pews, feeling muzzled, while the person on stage monopolizes every word, says Thom Schultz of Holy Soup. (Photo by stephen_jamesP, used by Creative Commons license)
Ministers today face so many pressures, The intensity of the job itself added to the high rates of unrealistic expectations from church memberships or even leadership can set up ministers to burn out quickly and, often, to live with a great burden of guilt, frustration, and disillusionment. “Strategic neglect” may be a way for ministers to cope by taking a new look at putting first things first by better managing their competing commitments and finding homeostasis in their spiritual, personal, and professional lives. (Photo by Leland Francisco, used by Creative Commons )
Vision is essential to a church. However, unlike the values, mission, and purpose, the vision is more subject to change. It is dynamic, not static. Over time, the vision must be renewed, adapted, and adjusted to the cultural context in which the congregation lives. The change takes place only at the margins of the vision, not at its core. Here are some important truths about vision that every church leader should know. (Photo by Philippematon, used by Creative Commons license)
How do you know you have a bad strategy for making disciples? Just look at the results. Remember, “your ministry is perfectly designed to produce the results you are currently experiencing.” This article from Pastors.com gives some good insight into how to change course. (Photo by David Joyce, used by Creative Commons license)
As American churches face the future, they increasingly realize that if something doesn’t change, they won’t survive. But what is it that must change? How they answer that question actually predicts their future, says Thom Schultz of Holysoup.com. (Photo by CarbonNYC used by creative commons license)
For most of us walking into the sanctuary on Sunday morning is as familiar as walking into our living room. But it’s not that way for many of our congregations’ first-time visitors. The more you can anticipate visitors questions, the better the chances that your first-time visitors won’t be your last-time visitors. From ChurchLeaders.com. (Photo […]
It’s time to start asking new questions. Better answers to the same old questions about the church will not get us through the tumultuous times in which we live. This is a time for out-of-the box thinking. Old questions keep is in the box. New questions invite us to move outside, writes Jeffrey D. Jones […]
