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Robert Schnase became Bishop of the Rio Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church beginning September 1, 2016, after serving as Bishop of the Missouri Conference. He has written many books, most recently, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, Revised and Updated (Abingdon Press, 2018), available at Cokesbury and Amazon.
Robert Schnase’s five key practices — radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission and service, and extravagant generosity — have helped thousands of…
Bishop Robert Schnase tells the story of a Texas congregation sharing worship with its homeless neighbors in relational and empowering ways. This powerful example of…
During my tenth year as pastor of a large multi-staff church, the laity offered me a twelve-week study leave for rest, renewal, and learning. I…
Every congregation has a set of expectations, mostly unspoken and never completely identified, about making decisions. And sometimes, these expectations are unhelpful. One such unhelpful…
Some congregations adopt purpose statements that are widely known and frequently repeated, such as “Connected with God, Growing in Faith, Serving with Love,” or “Honoring…
In tennis, players usually give their maximum effort on the first serve, knowing that if they fault on that one, they will have another opportunity.…
United Methodist Bishop Robert Schnase, author of the best-selling Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations published by Abingdon Press in 2007, has a new book on…
The other day I was driving down the interstate when I pulled into a roadside rest stop. Just as I stepped from my car, a…
Robert Schnase writes that the most important fruits are growing, vibrant congregations that are changing lives through Jesus Christ. The word “fruitfulness” keeps surfacing in…
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.