My family and I are obsessed with “the beautiful game” of soccer. I often find leadership and renewal lessons from the world of sports. Although change amongst billion-dollar sports franchises happens more quickly than in …
Renewal and Becoming a Better Leader
Church renewal depends on good leaders. As I’ve highlighted previously, “As leaders go, so goes the church.” It’s revealing that every time God makes a major redemptive move, he raises up a leader. In this …
Renewal And NextGen Ministry
Renewal congregations have a short list of things they do well. That short list should include next generation student ministries. This is particularly important given that according to a Pinetops Foundation report, 1 million young …
Renewal and Lived Theology
Renewal pastors in the Reformed/Presbyterian tradition are part of a community that loves declared theology. Declared theology gives expression to deeply held beliefs then covenants to live within the confines of those shared beliefs and …
Let Love Rule!
We’re just coming off the Valentine’s Day weekend which can bring up a lot of feelings for people. Hopefully for believers in Christ it causes us to reflect on how we have or have not …
Renewal Culture
At the Center for Church Renewal, we often highlight that “culture eats strategy for lunch” (a similar statement was first coined by Peter Drucker). In other words, shared values are more important than shared plans. …
Renewal: From Lake To River
I’m constantly searching for new ways to illustrate what church renewal is like in a rapidly changing world. Recently, I started pondering the idea of paddling a lake vs. paddling a river as a helpful …
Renewal and Unity
In President Biden’s inaugural address, he declared, “My whole soul is in this: Bringing America together, uniting our people. and uniting our nation. I ask every American to join me in this cause.” This call …
Renewal…Three Years In!
In my first post for this newsletter, I wanted to share some of my own renewal journey. In October of 2017, my church – Parklane CRC in Portland, Oregon – joined the Renewal Lab. We …
Engaging Gifted People in Renewal
Many renewal congregations have an abundance of talented people who are not engaged in ministry. This is a classic example of churches not living up to their full redemptive potential. Almost every congregation is filled …
