Healthy churches need healthy teams. That is true of staff teams, councils, ministry teams, and just about every other group of people trying to serve Jesus together. Over the next several weeks, I want to …
Living in the Shadow of Idealization
EDITOR’S NOTE: Last week, I wrote about the leadership lessons I learned in the Rockies. One of the people I learn from there is Dr. Ron Nydam, a former professor and current mentor of mine. …
Addressing sporadic attendance in church
Most churches are struggling with sporadic attendance. Recent studies suggest the majority of self-identified church goers attend Sunday worship once every 4-5 weeks. The downsides of uneven attendance are many. For example, consistent instruction is …
Is Your Church Strong Inside but Stuck Outside?
“What’s happening in churches?” That is a question I often hear from pastors, elders, and renewal leaders. Over the past few years, I have had the gift of surveying and talking with church leaders about …
Facing Reality: Deep Hurt and Fragile Unity
Today, we are concluding a series of newsletters naming and responding to the most common challenges churches are facing today. This week, we will address a daunting challenge, deep hurt and fragile unity in the congregation. …
Facing Reality: Blurry Vision
In this series of newsletters, we have been naming six challenges churches today cannot ignore. Today, we’ll turn to the fifth challenge, blurry vision. In many churches, pastors, staff members, office-bearers, and volunteers are working harder …
Navigating Our Fractured Reality
As we noted in the last article, there is a deep fracturing in the evangelical church that can lead people in the pews to suspect those sitting next to them of not being sufficiently Christian …
How Pastors Can Beat Burnout
The difficult work of church renewal can push pastors into burnout. If you feel like you’ve hit a wall, it doesn’t have to be the end of your ministry. It can be the beginning of a new chapter …
Renewing the Pastors Who Renew Churches
Pastors know that church renewal is about more than buildings and budgets; it’s about people! However, pastors today are struggling to flourish in the area of personal relationships, according to new data from Barna’s State of …
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 …