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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 Blessing of the Bikes

Pastor Daniel Kerlin’s Pennsylvania congregation wanted to reach people who wouldn’t normally come to church. They came up with a novel idea — a motorcyclist worship service followed by a “blessing of the bikes” in the church parking lot. “It was a pretty cool sight,” says Kerlin, “to see 80-year-old church ladies across the table from tattooed motorcycle enthusiasts clad in…

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Leading Ideas
0 3 Questions to Preserve Energy and Passion in Ministry

Heather Bradley and Miriam Bamberger Grogan are executive coaches with a particular concern for the wellbeing of clergy. They say that spiritual leaders are often held hostage by their own belief that their work never ends, that they have to do it all, and that whatever they do, it isn’t enough. Bradley and Grogan suggest three key questions that can…

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Leading Ideas
0 Clergy Age Trends in the United Methodist Church in 2016

Lovett H. Weems, Jr., reports that despite a modest but steady increase in the number of young clergy in the United Methodist Church over the past decade, the percentage of active elders over 55 has reached an all-time high. The Lewis Center’s annual report on clergy age trends also reveals a trend toward delayed retirement and, for the first time…

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Leading Ideas
0 Does Your Church Need a Disaster Ministry Plan?

Jamie D. Aten and David M. Boan, who head the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, say that you may never have thought about your church’s role in disaster response. But if your doors are open after a disaster strikes, people will come to you for help. The time to plan is now. It can be the difference between calm…

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Leading Ideas
0 God and Guns — Do Something!

Rev. Amy Butler writes that the epidemic of gun violence in America is no longer a matter of opinion or politics; it is a matter of life and death. Because Protestant churchgoers are 40 percent more likely than other Americans to own guns, pastors and church leaders are in a key position to facilitate conversation and organize for change. Rather…

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Leading Ideas
0 Good Leaders Still Face Problems — Just Different Ones

Lovett H. Weems, Jr., writes that effective leaders are never free from problems. In fact, as they make progress, they are likely to confront more complex and consequential problems. So, ironically, facing “higher quality” problems is a marker of success. A governor not known for his intellect was once asked at a press conference about a rash of prisoner escapes from…

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Leading Ideas
0 Church Bell Calls Kids to Summer Food and Fun

Pastor Daniel Kerlin’s Pennsylvania church hosts a free summer lunch program. When kids who were on their own or couldn’t tell time were having difficulty showing up on time, they started using their church bell to signal the start of lunchtime. In an era when many church bells stand silent, theirs is inviting a new generation of young people to…

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Leading Ideas
0 Volunteer-Savvy Leadership

Jake McGlothin, a staff member at Floris United Methodist Church in Virginia, shares perspectives on recruiting volunteers and keeping them happily engaged in ministry leadership. He explains the importance of the mindset he brings and the vocabulary he uses when asking people to serve. McGlothin says, “I want our ministry leaders to love what they do.” Many church leaders struggle…

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Leading Ideas
0 Leaders Know Themselves

Lovett H. Weems, Jr., discusses the importance of leaders having a mature, self-aware understanding of themselves. He writes that in order to achieve a healthy and accurate knowledge of one’s self, a leader must reach out to actively seek feedback, and then withdraw to reflect on that feedback and use it in self-examination. Leaders can err in two directions. Many begin…

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Leading Ideas
0 Reimaging Stewardship Season

Pastor Laura Heikes shares strategies for making stewardship season something people don’t dread, but to which they look forward. “It’s not impossible,” she writes. “Dream a little, try some new things, and don’t be afraid to talk boldly about giving. After all, Jesus did.” Who says stewardship has to drive people away? Last year during our stewardship drive, 14 people joined…

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Leading Ideas
0 Five Questions for Discerning Your Annual Giving Theme

John Zehring and Kate Jagger describe five questions that can help you define a theme that can serve as an effective framework for your annual stewardship campaign. A well-chosen campaign theme, they say, can help make your annual focus on giving invigorating and spiritually uplifting. Special offerings to aid individuals or communities in the wake of natural disasters or other…

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Leading Ideas
0 What Churches Do Young Adults Attend?

Lovett Weems examines the findings of a new report on engaging young adults and shares clues about the types of churches those ages 18–34 are most likely to attend. Perhaps the most important finding of the research is that the characteristics of churches with thriving young adult engagement are virtually the same factors that contribute to overall vitality and growth…

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Leading Ideas
0 Building Multicultural Relationships

Mark DeYmaz and Bob Whitesel say that the church must reposition itself to maintain credibility in an increasingly diverse community. They stress the importance of “getting outside your bubble” to connect with the diversity present in your sphere of influence. And, because structural change begins at a personal level, leaders must invest in meaningful multicultural relationships. According to the latest…

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Leading Ideas
0 Lessons from Churches that Reach Young Adults

Lovett Weems examines the findings of a new report on engaging young adults and shares clues for improving ministry with younger people. He notes that churches that assume they can engage young adults in the same manner as anyone else virtually always fail. To have young adults involved beyond a token level, there must be a specific strategy to reach…

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Leading Ideas
0 Is Your Coffee Hour Chaotic Enough?

Researcher Kirk Hadaway has discovered that coffee hour in rapidly growing Episcopal churches is different than in the average congregation. It tends to be more vibrant, even chaotic, but in a good way! Taking steps to make coffee hour more vibrant and engaging is a simple way for any church to develop a sense of community and draw in new…

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Leading Ideas
0 Too Few Sunday School Teachers? Try a Team Approach

John Wimberly reports how creating a team of four teachers for each children’s Sunday school classroom had the paradoxical effect of easing the burden of recruiting teachers at Western Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. It also led to a greater sense of camaraderie and more creative problem solving. I had been having the same conversation with Christian educators at Western…

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Leading Ideas
0 Why You Can’t Build a Church around the Pastor

Reflecting on the forced resignation of a mega-church pastor in South Carolina, Roger Lovette says serious problems follow any time a church is built around a particular individual. Pastors and congregations must remember that the church belongs not to them, but to Jesus Christ. Since I have been back in South Carolina the last four years, I have heard the…

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Leading Ideas
0 Living Through a Church Renovation

Daniel Hilty says that any large-scale facility renovation requires a congregation to tolerate a tremendous amount of change and disruption. It’s critical to share information, listen to concerns, and acknowledge grief and loss. But perhaps the most important task is reminding the congregation of the “why” behind all of the changes. Any church that has ever considered a building renovation…

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Leading Ideas
0 Leadership for Worship

Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says that few areas require more sensitive and creative leadership than worship. Merely asking someone what worship practices they prefer does not take account of the multiple values inherent in worship leadership. An interactive approach is needed to take into account theology and history as well as the perspectives of the pastor and the congregation. I…

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Leading Ideas
0 Ten Hints for Leading Volunteers

Jill Fox lists ten things to keep in mind to develop a ministry team with healthy and happy volunteers, and one that is also attractive to new volunteers. The best leaders, she says, share responsibilities and help make their team members’ jobs clear, relevant, and fun. What do volunteers on a ministry team need? How can you prepare for success?…

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Leading Ideas
0 Four Questions for Congregations

Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says vital congregations are clear about their mission, outwardly focused, oriented toward the future, and concerned more with results than processes. He outlines four questions that can help keep a congregation on track when it comes to these essential attributes. “How are we doing?” is a question that all leaders within a congregation need to keep…

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Leading Ideas
0 Five Keys to Becoming a More Inclusive Community

Mark DeYmaz and Bob Whitesel maintain that congregations must become more inclusive communities that embrace oneness across race and class distinctions. They advise that churches examine their worship, leadership, language, resources, and planning to consider whether these five key areas of congregational life reflect openness and a true commitment to diversity. Churches can no longer ignore the systemic segregation of…

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Leading Ideas
0 A Better Way to Report on Giving

Stewardship experts Kristine Miller and Scott McKenzie explain why publishing weekly and year-to-date giving amounts in the Sunday bulletin with a “woe is us” message can undercut people’s desire to give by creating the impression that your church is not financially stable and fiscally responsible. Income for churches never comes in fifty-two equal installments, so long-term giving trends must be considered…

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Leading Ideas
0 Coffee Shop Conversations

Scott Chrostek, pastor of Resurrection Downtown, visited thirty-three coffee shops during his first month in Kansas City with a daily goal of having thirty-five conversations that led to discussion of his church. He says these encounters were often “holy surprises,” even when his conversation partners were seemingly uninterested in church. Scott shares strategies for maximizing the opportunity to meet neighbors…

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Leading Ideas
0 Six Ways to Make Change Stick

Pastor Charles Stone, who has studied how brain chemistry impacts our ability to process change, recommends six specific strategies to help congregational leaders embrace change. Getting leaders on board first is a critical step that avoids organizational disruption and ensures that the change will be a lasting one. Wise leaders understand that lasting change requires that individuals change first before…

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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.