Is Your Church History a Static
or Dynamic Force?
by Joe Arnold

Church history is a lot like gravity – it is always with us whether we are aware of it or not. While church history may seem unrelated to congregational leadership, those who attempt to change things soon discover that it lurks just beneath the surface. We have all heard the seven deadly words, “But we’ve always done it that way!”

Given that a majority of U.S. congregations are more than 75 years old, most church leaders must wrestle with history. Just as engineers take the force of gravity into account when designing a new structure, church leaders must seriously engage history when initiating change. And, like gravity, church history can be a static or a dynamic force, one that maintains the status quo or one that propels things in a new direction.

Read More

BOOK NOTES

Wiring Your Church for Worship
by Constance E. Stella, Abingdon, 2007, $8
Connie Stella has led the development of a media ministry at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection that is mission-driven. Part of Resurrection’s Ministry Guides Series, this small book will be of most help in guiding the purpose and character of a church’s media ministry. Everything revolves around the congregation’s mission. Technology is only helpful to a church to the extent that it helps further the mission. Working within the congregation’s distinctive culture and ministries, media leaders can know what resources would be helpful and which to ignore. This is a foundational handbook for media ministry leaders. (notes by Lovett Weems) click here to buy from amazon.com

Read More

Leaders do not need answers.
Leaders must have the right questions.

Developing a “wish list” is a way one congregation collected ideas from members at the beginning of a planning process. They began by asking everyone to contribute to a list of statements that began:

Regarding worship, I wish ….
Regarding our ministry with children, I wish . . . .

These wishes were organized by topic, and a small group was assigned to develop “we wish” statements that captured the key hopes for each of the ministry areas.

Editors:  Lovett H. Weems, Jr. and Ann A. Michel
Production and distribution:  Joe Arnold

Copyright © 2007 by the G. Douglass Lewis Center for Church Leadership. Leading Ideas material may be freely distributed with attribution (exclusive of material protected by separate copyright).