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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 Helping People Connect with God through Nature

The natural world is our first way of knowing God, says Beth Norcross, an expert in spirituality and nature. Finding God in nature can reconnect people with faith and the biblical tradition, especially the growing percentage of younger people who are less attracted by the trappings of the institutional church. To celebrate the Lewis Center’s anniversary, we are highlighting Leading…

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Leading Ideas
0 4 Ways to Make Easter Hospitality the Pattern for the Year

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 ways the hospitality of the Easter season can be the launching pad for more intentional visitor welcome throughout the year. In many churches, Christmas, Easter, and Mother’s Day are the three times of year when…

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Leading Ideas
0 Why Limit the Celebration of Easter to Just One Sunday?

David Manner says that many churches attract new attendees with the lure of Easter but then quickly leave the subject. He asks, if Easter really is the foundation of our faith, why do we limit its celebration to just one Sunday? This article was originally published March 29, 2022. We’ve all seen social media hyperlinks that entice readers to click…

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Leading Ideas
0 7 Ways Your Church Can Respond to the Reality of Sexual Assault

Ruth Everhart, a pastor, author, and sexual assault survivor, outlines steps that any church can take to respond to the sexual victimization of women. Scripture, doctrine, honest conversation, and a commitment to creating safe spaces are important resources churches can employ in ministering to survivors and preventing future abuse.   One of the challenges facing today’s Church is the need to…

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Leading Ideas
0 3 Practices to Help Pastors Increase Productivity

How can pastors maximize their effectiveness when it comes to time management? Eric Daniel shares three practices to help pastors work more productively and address time management challenges. “Pastor, I know you are busy….” The statement is well intended but should never describe our life and ministry. What happened to the unhurried pastor? Can the pastor, with no time available,…

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Leading Ideas
0 Rebuilding Communities with Hope: An In-depth Interview with Glorymar Rivera Báez

How can churches partner with other organizations to effectively and comprehensively meet the needs of their community? Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff speaks with Glorymar Rivera Báez, executive director of REHACE, about the organization’s work in Puerto Rico providing services to vulnerable populations and rebuilding communities. Listen to this interview, watch the interview video on YouTube, or continue reading.…

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Leading Ideas
0 Pre-Pandemic Worship Attendance: Not a Helpful Measure

Many churches today lament worship attendance numbers that have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Lovett H. Weems Jr. says this is an unhelpful comparison. He recommends that churches turn their attention away from the past and focus on a bold and future-oriented goal to reach new people in your community.   Churches continue to celebrate moving beyond the total shutdown…

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Leading Ideas
0 6 Traits People Value in Online Faith Communities

In the rush to offer online worship, many churches have focused primarily on technical and programmatic concerns. Heidi Campbell says it’s more important to consider what people need from church now and how digital technology can meet those needs. To celebrate the Lewis Center’s anniversary, we are highlighting Leading Articles — some of our most popular posts of the past…

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Leading Ideas
0 5 Ways Pastors Make Ministry Harder than It Needs to Be

How do church leaders make ministry harder than it needs to be? Carey Nieuwhof identifies five ways that many pressures faced in ministry are more solvable than we think.   Being a church leader is a tough assignment (very worth it but still tough). The real question is, do you make it harder than it needs to be? Unfortunately, for many…

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Leading Ideas
0 Five Keys to Successful Volunteer Recruitment

Struggling to recruit volunteers? Deech Kirk shares five keys for successful volunteer recruitment drawn from his work with youth ministry teams but applicable to other areas of ministry as well. Here are five keys to a successful volunteer recruitment plan: There is no way around it: you have to ask people to volunteer. 1. Know your needs. You need to…

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Leading Ideas
0 Reaching People Here and There, Now and Later through Hybrid Worship: An In-Depth Interview with Jason Moore

How can your worship connect powerfully not only with those in the room on Sunday mornings, but with those worshiping online in the moment and after the fact? Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff and hybrid ministry expert Jason Moore discuss how simple changes can make your worship more meaningful and participatory for online viewers in the moment and…

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Leading Ideas
0 Leading Topics: Biblical Leadership

Leadership Lessons from the Bible In this second Special 20th Anniversary Edition of Leading Ideas we re-present some of the most pertinent and popular articles on biblical leadership. The Bible records the stories of hundreds of leaders who responded to God’s call and advanced the story of salvation history. Some are well-known biblical heroes. But if we read scriptures with…

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Leading Ideas
0 10 Ways to Engage People Who Worship Online

How can congregations better engage people who worship online? Jim Keat, Digital Minister at The Riverside Church, offers 10 tips for congregations to strengthen engagement and build relationships with online worshippers. During the worship broadcast, church leaders often overlook or do not give enough intentional thought to the people who are worshipping online. Here are 10 ways to engage congregants…

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Leading Ideas
0 Ten Traits of Jesus as Transformational Leader

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 pleased to share again this article by Ed Stetzer and Thom S. Rainer, originally published on September 2, 2015. When studying the subject of transformational leadership, we should take a look at our own leader,…

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Leading Ideas
0 Report on Disaffiliating United Methodist Churches through 2022: Comparing Similarities and Differences

What are the characteristics of churches disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church? Lovett H. Weems Jr. reports that there are more similarities than differences between the cohort of disaffiliating churches and the total pool of all United Methodist churches. But disaffiliating churches are overwhelmingly in the South with majority white memberships. They are also more likely to have a male…

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Leading Ideas
0 How Inclusive, Participatory Leadership Revitalized the Girl Scouts of America

Lovett H. Weems Jr. highlights leadership lessons from the life of Frances Hesselbein and her impact on the Girl Scouts. She was a passionate servant who advocated for inclusivity and modeled shared leadership and moral leadership. I spoke once at a citywide religious observance that sought to bring together all the churches of that community. It was an impressive gathering…

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Leading Ideas
0 Money and a Heart for God: An In-depth Interview with Callie Picardo

How does our faith influence our relationship with money? Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff speaks with Callie Picardo, a teacher and the coauthor of Money Talks: A Biblical Take on Earning, Saving, Spending, and Giving, about stewardship, gratitude, and how creative partnerships can expand ministries. Listen to this interview, watch the interview video on YouTube, or continue reading. Jessica…

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Leading Ideas
0 10 Dos and Don’ts for Handling Difficult Conversations

No one looks forward to dealing with difficult issues, but confronting problems is an essential part of being an effective leader. Chris Sonksen outlines four wrong approaches and six more constructive ways to handle difficult conversations if division, dissention, mission drift, or other difficulties plague your leadership teams or staff. You know in your heart or feel in your gut…

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Leading Ideas
0 7 Policies Every Church Needs for Trust and Transparency

Trust is fragile, says Bonnie Ives Marden. And finances, if not handled correctly, can be a source of worry rather than security. She outlines seven policies for institutional trust and financial integrity that reduce confusion and conflict while at the same time encouraging generosity to support your mission. To celebrate the Lewis Center’s anniversary, we are highlighting Leading Articles —…

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Leading Ideas
0 Stop Beginning Worship with Boring Announcements

Jason Moore says churches should stop beginning their worship with boring announcements and instead give worshipers an overview of what’s coming and why it matters to them. Announcements can be reframed as action steps flowing from the theme of the sermon and presented at the end of the service. One common way we start worship often goes like this: An…

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Leading Ideas
0 Don’t Forget to Say Thanks

Stewardship expert Charles Lane says that thanking your church’s donors isn’t difficult but remembering to do it often is. He outlines key elements in developing a thank you plan and stresses the importance of sticking to it. I was at our local zoo a few weeks ago and watched a family of four emerge from the gift shop. Each of…

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Leading Ideas
0 The Church’s #Me Too Reckoning

How can the church confront its complicity in sexual abuse and misconduct? In this interview, Ruth Everhart, a leading voice on issues of sexual abuse in the church, says congregations must create safe spaces for victims to share their stories while committing to appropriate measures to both prevent and respond to incidents of misconduct and abuse. Listen to this interview, watch…

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Leading Ideas
0 The Rural Church’s Gifts

Michael Adam Beck and Tyler Kleeberger describe how the unique demographics of rural churches bring not only the potential for intimacy and neighborliness but also an inherent diversity that forces smaller churches to do the hard work of creating unity amid differences. Sometimes it’s easier to love the idea of people rather than the people themselves. Particular people are messy.…

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Leading Ideas
0 Top 10 Reasons Visitors Don’t Come Back

What do visitors say when asked why they don’t return to a church? Thom Rainer outlines the top 10 responses when hundreds of guests were surveyed about their experiences of visiting a church. 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 pleased to…

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Leading Ideas
0 Strengthening Online Worship Beyond the Pandemic

Lovett H. Weems Jr. says a continued commitment to online worship is not a hindrance that detracts from in-person worship but rather a vital way to reach new people and accomplish the church’s mission. But as this new worship option continues to evolve, congregations must commit to mastering the medium by learning, seeking feedback, and continuing to improve. I remember…

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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.