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Leading Ideas
Delivered every Wednesday, our free e-newsletter Leading Ideas offers articles by thoughtful, cutting-edge leaders on subjects you care about — navigating change, reaching younger people, financing your ministry, communicating effectively — to help you be the leader God is calling you to be.

The Lewis Center is committed to helping congregations and denominations thrive and grow by providing ideas, research, resources, and training for vital and fruitful leadership. Through Leading Ideas, we share vignettes of leaders and congregations, book reviews, leadership quotes, and helpful “right questions” built around the premise that leaders don’t need answers — they need to know the right questions.

Leading Ideas
0 SPEAKPIPE – Showing Up with Questions: Listening in a New Setting

Strong leadership in a new ministry setting begins not with quick answers, but with intentional listening. Luke Edwards shares the key questions he plans to ask as he begins a new pastoral appointment at Huntersville United Methodist Church, offering a practical framework for leaders navigating transition, discernment, and community engagement. I have some big news. On July 1st, I will…

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Leading Ideas
0 Communicating in a Crisis

Church consultant Mike Bonem says leaders need to step up their communication in this season of anxiety and uncertainty. It is important to be transparent, hopeful, and focused on the mission. Communication is one of a leader’s most important responsibilities and most powerful tools. Even though effective communication is known to be vital, it is frequently overlooked or poorly executed.…

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Leading Ideas
0 11 Provocative Thoughts and Questions About What’s Next

Bill Wilson shares 11 provocative thoughts and questions regarding how the future of the church will be shaped by the implications of the cornonavirus pandemic. He says this crisis catapulted the church forward and we cannot ignore the lessons learned. What’s on the horizon for congregations and parishes as we transition from the crisis of the moment to the long-term…

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Leading Ideas
0 Digital Church Is Here to Stay

Carey Nieuwhof says the post-COVID-19 world will be a different place. The move to digital worship is here to stay, he predicts. Putting it back on the shelf in the new normal would ignore the greatest opportunity the church today has to reach people. By now you’ve realized that the COVID-19 pandemic is not an interruption nearly as much as…

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Leading Ideas
0 How Should Leaders Respond to an External Shock?

Leaders need to focus on core mission and values in the face of a powerful external shock says Meredith McNabb of the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving. Addressing this crisis with integrity, confidence, and hope requires knowing your congregation and its purpose. COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus, has upended the lives of congregations’ members, overturned patterns of life…

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Leading Ideas
0 Is Your Congregation a Swamp, a Reservoir, or a Canal?

Is your congregation cut off and inwardly focused? Primarily a storehouse of resources? Or a connector that brings things together? The images of swamp, reservoir, and canal can reveal the challenges and opportunities impacting your church’s vitality says F. Douglas Powe, Jr., Director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, and James C. Logan, Chair of Evangelism (an E. Stanley…

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Leading Ideas
0 Becoming a Church Without Walls

Andrew Ponder Williams says that these trying times provide an opportunity to advance a new way of being church. He offers ideas on how digital connections can help us reach people not previously connected to our congregations. For my whole life, I have dreamed about a church without walls. Well here we are! Most churches sadly cannot meet within their…

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Leading Ideas
0 Resurrection Hope and the Response to COVID-19

Resurrection involves transformation, and to proclaim resurrection hope is to affirm the possibility of change. Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff sees resurrection hope in the willingness of so many churches to embrace new and innovative approaches to ministry in this time of uncertainty and travail. Our Lenten journey this year has been dominated by fear and anxiety, disruption…

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Leading Ideas
0 Choosing Joy in the Face of Disruption and Loss

We can choose to dwell on the loss and change COVID-19 has brought to our lives, or we can shift our focus and choose joy. American University’s Bryan Champion says during this time of isolation we have received the precious gift of time to spend with those most dear to us, advance goals, and improve our own leadership. I know…

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Leading Ideas
0 Preaching to an Empty Room

How can preachers maintain a sense of presence and engage their audience when COVID-19 has their congregants viewing worship via livestream? Read these tips on preaching to an empty room by Alyce McKenzie, Le Van Professor of Preaching and Worship, Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor and Director of the Center for Preaching Excellence at Perkins School of Theology. Our current situation…

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Leading Ideas
0 Staying Connected in a Time of Social Distancing

How can congregations sustain a sense of community and care for one another when most gatherings have been suspended? Some simple strategies can be used to stay in touch with those who are isolated and maintain an ongoing spiritual presence says F. Douglas Powe Jr., Director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, and James C. Logan, Chair of Evangelism…

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Leading Ideas
0 6 Leadership Practices that Enhance Involvement and Collaboration

Are you leading in a way that inspires, invites, and engages others? Katie Carson Phillips outlines six basic leadership practices that support greater collaboration and more meaningful engagement. Does your church suffer from a lack of committed involvement? Your committees may be full. People may show up. But they lack passion, investment, and a willingness to act. It’s tempting to…

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Leading Ideas
0 Are You Teaching People about Faith? Or How to Practice It?

Johannah Myers describes a paradigm shift in how we form disciples with a move away from Christian education toward an emphasis on forming people in the practices of the faith. In place of age-level classrooms she sees a need to help people of all ages live out their faith through intergenerational mentoring and experiential learning. When I first started serving…

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Leading Ideas
0 6 Silver Linings in the Clouds of Doom and Gloom

Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff points to six positive factors that may offer clues to churches seeking a way forward in an environment shaped by so many discouraging trends and challenges. Do you feel barraged by the discouraging trends and challenging circumstances defining church life today? Aging clergy. Denominational struggles. Decreasing average worship attendance. Worrisome giving trends. The…

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Leading Ideas
0 3 Key Lessons from Leadership Pioneer Mary Parker Follett

Lovett H. Weems Jr. explains how Mary Parker Follett, a pioneering leadership thinker who valued human interaction and interconnectivity, influenced his thinking on key leadership themes such as vision, collaboration, and reconciliation. Mary Parker Follett (1868-1933) was ahead of her time. Her life was that of a pioneer and, perhaps more importantly, her ideas were and continue to be groundbreaking.…

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Leading Ideas
0 What Does Religious Freedom Mean Today?

Some people misuse the cause of religious freedom by making it a weapon against their opponents, says Lovett H. Weems Jr. However, this cherished freedom was established on behalf of those with minority views and beliefs. It is not a pretense for discrimination, a license to do anything in the name of religion, or a guarantee of religious comfort. The…

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Leading Ideas
0 3 Characteristics of Genuine Christian Hospitality

Christian hospitality doesn’t begin at the church’s front door, writes Philip J. Brooks. It extends Christlike love into the surrounding community, builds relationships, and risks change for the sake of including someone new. Hospitality is a word one hears often in church. Many congregations have a permanent hospitality committee or dedicated team to ensure guests on Sunday are welcomed warmly. But…

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Leading Ideas
0 4 Steps to a More Welcoming Church Building

Lovett Weems reminds us that visitors often form a first impression of a church based on the appearance of the areas they first encounter, such as the parking lot, entry, and restrooms. He recommends four steps to assess and improve the message sent to newcomers by the condition of your facilities. Do you remember what it was like to go…

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Leading Ideas
0 4 Ways to Multiply Disciples the Way Jesus Did

Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird explain that for our ministries to have a truly exponential impact, we need to be mentoring, developing, and multiplying disciples. They share four key learnings about how Jesus nurtured his followers by investing time in them. In John 3:22, the Bible makes an easily overlooked, seemingly mundane statement: “Jesus and his disciples went out into…

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Leading Ideas
0 7 Things to Do When a Church Is in Decline

Ron Edmondson says addressing decline promptly and honestly is difficult but critical work for congregations in a slump. Objectively evaluating problems, avoiding blame, and charting a clear way forward are some of the steps he recommends. What should you do when a church is in decline? I get asked that question a lot. It should be noted there are no…

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Leading Ideas
0 3 Keys to Congregational Success: Meaning, Belonging, and Values

Dave Brubaker says making meaning of life, providing a network of relationships, and transmitting essential values are three essential ways congregations respond to core human needs. These aspects of congregational life are key to success and may help reach “Nones” and others missing from our pews. Meaning making and belonging are core human needs. For parents and others who care…

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Leading Ideas
0 The 4 “C’s” of Impactful Leadership

Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe says that courage, conviction, collaboration, and creativity are four characteristics of effective leadership evident in the powerful legacy of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. These four “C’s” can also set apart our leadership if we learn to harness their collective power. What sets a great leader apart from others? What are some of the…

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Leading Ideas
0 3 Ways to Lead More Collaboratively

Justin Irving and Mark Strauss write that collaboration is an important factor contributing to effective leadership. Leading with humility, celebrating the contributions of others, and embracing the benefits of teamwork are three key principles vital to more successful organizational leadership. Whether it is engaging a community with shared vision or embracing more team-oriented practices in your organization, fostering collaboration is…

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Leading Ideas
0 Nurturing a Dementia-Friendly Church

Bishop Kenneth Carder considers how churches can be in ministry with those with dementia and their families. His practical advice to congregations is informed by his poignant personal journey and his profound reflection on the spiritual aspects of coping with dementia. One of the last words to leave my wife Linda’s vocabulary was church. Each week a couple from the…

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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.