Church teams stay busy with meetings to attend, programs to run, people to care for, emails to answer, services to plan, and problems to solve. We stay so busy that we can lose sight of the …
When No One Wants to Be the Bad Guy
Healthy churches are built by healthy teams, but healthy team dynamics do not happen by chance. In this series, we have been looking at the foundations of teams that function well. So far, we have seen that …
Why Won’t My Team Commit
Over the past few weeks, we have been looking at how to create healthy teams that can help your church thrive. First, we saw that healthy teams are built on the foundation of trust. Then, we …
Leadership Lessons: It’s All About The Climb
The busy fall season is suddenly upon us, but I hope you were able to take some time away for quiet reflection during the slower summer months. I always take a study leave retreat in …
7 investments for creating trust accounts
Church revitalization demands change. Change is essential if churches are to move ever closer to the goal of becoming intentional missional congregations that make more and better disciples. Churches that resist change will inevitably die …
The Change Your Church May Be Avoiding
Many churches know something needs to change. They can feel it. Attendance patterns have shifted. Volunteers are harder to find. Outreach feels more difficult. Younger generations seem less connected. The surrounding culture has changed. The …
When Politics Pulls Renewal Into The Rapids
Renewal is never a calm float down a lazy river. Sooner or later, every church that wants to follow Jesus into deeper health and mission hits rough water. One of the roughest places right now …
Is Leadership Development a Bottleneck In Your Church?
In this series of articles, we are looking at common bottlenecks that keep churches from growing. In the last article, we looked at the guest-path bottleneck. We asked whether our churches are easy to enter, …
Is Decision-Making Slowing Down Your Church
In this series of articles, we are exploring ministry bottlenecks that keep churches from moving forward. In the last article, we explored how the pastor can become a bottleneck when too much depends on one person. …
How to Find and Relieve Ministry Bottlenecks
Have you ever been in a traffic jam? Traffic gets backed up for miles and moves at a snail’s pace, adding a half hour to your trip. When this happens, it is usually not because the …