Essential choices must be made when a church moves onto the downward slope of its lifecycle. This is especially true as the church moves from early to late aging. When the church enters this stage …
Pursuing Justice in Church Renewal
Is the world a better place because of Christianity? Increasingly, authors, bloggers, and influencers are saying that religion promotes injustice and violence. They believe that many non-Christians care about the poor and vulnerable more than the Church …
How To Become An Outward-Focused Church
The gravitational pull of churches will always be toward the wants and needs of insiders. It takes intentional effort to keep a church focused on its mission of reaching those outside the faith. At this year’s …
A Tailor-Made Approach to Change
How do ideas spread? That is the question behind Everett Rogers’ classic book, The Diffusion of Innovations. As church renewal leaders, learning the art and science of change is crucial to our work. Developing those skills by reading …
How To Engage “ChrEasters” and Reverse the Decline in Attendance
Pastors sometimes joke about “ChrEasters” or “CEOs” (Christmas/Easter Only attenders), but the reality is no laughing matter. The frequency of church attendance nationwide continues to drop at an alarming rate. The Household Pulse Survey revealed that 49 …
How to Structure for Renewal
Good governance is essential for healthy renewal. Governance is about how we decide things and how we get things done. It is about the relationship between boards, staff, teams, and volunteers. Governance is like a …
Dealing With Doubt and Deconstruction
As church renewal leaders, we dream of building vibrant, growing churches, but the trend of deconstruction reveals that infrastructure may be fracturing. Young people are increasingly leaving behind the faith in which they were raised, …
The Physics of Church Renewal
Understanding and harnessing the laws of the universe is powerful! Look no further than the highly anticipated movie Oppenheimer, which is centered around the incredible power hidden inside tiny atoms. Similar laws are at work …
Church Planting in the Secular West
Stephan Paas’ book is a wonderful crossover volume that speaks about church planting but connects deeply with church renewal. In Church Planting in the Secular West he helps us understand the church of the ages …