Subscribe free to "Leading Ideas" at churchleadership.com/leadingideas. Every Wednesday, "Leading Ideas" delivers information, resources, and strategies for forward-thinking church leaders.
F. Douglas Powe, Jr., is director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership and holds the James C. Logan Chair in Evangelism (an E. Stanley Jones Professorship) at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. He is also co-editor with Jessica Anschutz of Healing Fractured Communities (Palmetto, 2024) and coauthor with Lovett H. Weems Jr. of Sustaining While Disrupting: The Challenge of Congregational Innovation (Fortress, 2022). His previous books include The Adept Church: Navigating Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Abingdon Press, 2020); Not Safe for Church: Ten Commandments for Reaching New Generations; New Wine, New Wineskins: How African American Congregations Can Reach New Generations; Transforming Evangelism: The Wesleyan Way of Sharing Faith; and Transforming Community: The Wesleyan Way to Missional Congregations.
Lovett H. Weems Jr. is senior consultant at the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, distinguished professor of church leadership emeritus at Wesley Theological Seminary, and author of several books on leadership.
Jessica L. Anschutz is the Associate Director of the Lewis Center and co-editor of Leading Ideas. She teaches in the Doctor of Ministry program at Wesley Theological Seminary and is an elder in the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Jessica participated in the Lewis Fellows program, the Lewis Center's leadership development program for young clergy. She is also the co-editor with Doug Powe of Healing Fractured Communities (Palmetto, 2024).
What does the post-pandemic and post-disaffiliation United Methodist Church (UMC) look like? Jessica Anschutz speaks with Lewis Center Director Doug Powe and Senior Consultant Lovett…
As the landscape of ministry continues to shift, the Lewis Center sees congregations adapting in creative new ways. Jessica Anschutz, Ann Michel, and Doug Powe…
How can the church adapt to future challenges and foster community through innovative leadership? Doug Powe and Dustin Benac discuss the future of the church,…
Podcast Episode 159 How can the church adapt to future challenges and foster community through innovative leadership? In this episode Doug Powe and Dustin Benac…
Effective church leadership involves navigating the politics of ministry beyond practical skills. Doug Powe and Jessica Anschutz emphasize that leaders must learn to read between…
How can we lead in times of disaster? As we remember 9/11, Terry Bradfield, a retired Army chaplain who was assigned to the Pentagon on…
Ensuring that everyone in a busy church is informed about upcoming events can be a daunting task. Doug Powe, Director of the Lewis Center, shares…
A call to ministry along with a desire to make friends and fight off loneliness led Cristin Cooper to launch Coop’s Soups, an innovative business…
Podcast Episode 153 A call to ministry along with a desire to make friends and fight off loneliness led Cristin Cooper to launch Coop’s Soups,…
Where are all the young people? Does the church really want to do ministry with them? In this interview, Doug Powe speaks with Dr. Reggie…
한국어로 Many congregations actively engage in community outreach activities that provide essential resources to those in need within our communities. While outreach is crucial, we…
How can an innovative exploration of Moses’s biblical narrative offer a more generous leadership model for today’s religious leaders? In this interview, Doug Powe speaks…
How can a passion for helping people flourish lead to social innovation? K Scarry share about social innovation and the ways she is supporting local…
Lewis Center Director Doug Powe says siloed age-level ministries often prevent congregations from worshiping together around one common table. But the pandemic provided an opportunity…
How can church leaders address the challenges of urban ministry in a transformative way? Doug Powe speaks with Tony Hunt, a pastor and scholar, about…
How can congregational leaders be healers and agitators at the same time? In this in-depth interview, Doug Powe and Jessica Anschutz reflect on the new…
How can an improv comedy show explore the intersection of faith and real life in community? Doug Powe and Katie Phillips talk about how Improv…
All proceeds support the Dr. Lovett H. Weems Jr. Scholarship fund. Congregational leaders are charged with caring for those inside and outside of faith communities.…
Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech proposed a big dream for what America can become. What big dreams do you have for…
Ann Michel, Doug Powe, and Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff identify seven trends church leaders should keep in mind as they develop creative…
What are micro churches and how do they disciple missional leaders? Bree Mills, director of Micro Churches Australia shares about the characteristics of micro churches,…
Congregations that want to move forward and live more missionally need to understand and embody four key characteristics, says F. Douglas Powe, director of the…
Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe says that the summer is the perfect time for a congregation to test possible changes through short-term experiments. He…
How can you deepen your relationship with the children and families participating in a Vacation Bible School and stay connected with them throughout the year?…
To celebrate the Lewis Center’s anniversary, we are highlighting Leading Articles — some of our most popular posts of the past 20 years. We are…
How can preachers keep their preaching fresh? Doug Powe of the Lewis Center staff interviews Professor of Preaching Teresa Fry Brown about preaching familiar texts…
What happens when a congregation trusts God for big change? Doug Powe of the Lewis Center staff speaks with author and pastor Dawn Darwin Weaks…
How can Christian educators maximize the potential for learning in both hybrid and virtual classrooms? Doug Powe of the Lewis Center staff speaks with author…
Learn ways to sustain tradition while guiding fresh initiatives and addressing unfamiliar issues. Many churches today find it difficult to adjust to changing circumstances. Traditional…
Lewis Center Director Doug Powe says special efforts to welcome visitors at Easter shouldn’t be set aside once the holiday is over. He outlines four…
This article is reprinted by permission from Leading Ideas, a free e-newsletter from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary available at churchleadership.com.