What kinds of things give the American church hope for the future? In spite of declining trends, participants at the recent Future of the Church summit identified some clear strengths and opportunities for the church in North America. From Thom Schultz of Holysoup.com. (Photo by Navdeep Raj, used by Creative Commons license.)
What’s happening to today’s Mainline churches has a lot to do with cultural trends, but more important is the birthrate, argues this writer in EthicsDaily.com. Do you agree? What is affecting your church?
You’ve heard of the “Nones” — those whose religious affiliation is None. But there is a growing multitude of church ex-members who have simply left church for a variety of reasons. They’re sometimes called the de-churched. They have not abandoned their faith. They are not Nones. Rather, call them the Dones. What can we do about it? (Photo by Lukas Kastner, used by Creative Commons license.)
Every congregational leader has had this experience: A well-presented great idea — bold, creative, innovative and missional — is met with a tsunami of resistance. This article from ChurchLeaders.com talks about the top pretexts for resistance and how to handle them.
An ever increasing number of people are choosing to live with fewer possessions and as a result are experiencing a better quality of life. Read about the new minimalists, gather some ideas, and use what fits your context to be a better steward of all of God’s creation in 2015. (Photo: storebukkebruse, Creative Commons)
No church leader I know wants to see another church close its doors. We need every local church, now more than ever, if we’re going to fulfill the Great Commission as soon as possible. But each local church in history has tended to have its own life cycle. Some are revived and have a whole new life. Others disband and dissolve. And many churches limp along in mere survival mode for a couple of decades until their stalwart generation is gone and then close their doors. If you think your church might be dying, here are some possible next moves. (Photo by Tom Blackwell, used by Creative Commons license)
The book-turned-movie “Moneyball” chronicles how the Oakland A’s discovered a revolutionary way of thinking about baseball. Can there be a moneyball for religion? Congregations are often judged by their size, but what does this hide about the way we do religion? Is there a hidden way of doing things that should be measured, asks Tobin […]
By using principles of adaptive leadership, rather than reactive leadership, many pastors and congregational leaders are finding ways to energize, motivate and move their churches in new directions. This article, from the Reformed Church in America, gives a nice overview of adaptive leadership — and a bibliography for further reading!
Wise leaders know that change in a congregation can be incredibly hard, requiring amazing amounts of time and energy. But they also know that constant change is necessary and worth the expense. Here are some principles for how to lead your congregation through healthy change. From pastor.com. (Photo by Phil Whitehouse, used by Creative Commons […]
Amid a time enormous cultural and economic changes, many of our churches struggle for mere survival, rather than how to be a light to a dark world. But a study by Interfaith Funders and the University of New Mexico show that many churches have found purpose, strength, hope and growth through Congregation-Based Community Organizing. This 24-page PDF introduces the concept. (Photo by Mark Parker, used by Creative Commons license)
