Congregations as Political Systems
David Brubaker says that while every congregation is a political system, political activity doesn’t need to be manipulative, polarizing or demeaning. He outlines four requirements…
Browsing: Change
Articles
How Leaders Create Culture Every Day
Leaders are culture creators, writes Ryan Stigile. Their words, actions, and decisions reinforce community values. When the culture of an organization conforms to its values,…
Predictable Surprises in the Church
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., encourages congregations to uncover and prepare for their “predictable surprises.” Leadership is about the future, so leaders must take the future…
Roadblocks to God’s Future
Alan Roxburgh describes established patterns, habits, and values that operate in the background of every church, standing in the way of renewal. We must, he…
Changing Congregational Trends
Every five years Faith Communities Today provides a marvelous service to all churches through their very thorough survey of religious congregations across the United States.…
Launching Sustainable Ministries
What do you do when someone in your church presents an idea for a new program or ministry? New initiatives can be empowering and energizing.…
Cool Church Isn’t What It Used to Be
In a rapidly changing culture, churches cannot stay relevant by simply adopting the latest trend, says Carey Nieuwhof, especially as indifference to church grows. The…
Becoming a Leader Who Says Yes!
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…
Should We Go From Two Worship Services to One?
Just as some churches are adding worship services, others are considering reducing the number of worship times they offer. The most common circumstance is a…
Quiet Leadership by Public Leaders
Dale Bumpers was a very public leader for most of his adult life — as governor of Arkansas for two terms and then United States…
Collective Genius
Much conventional wisdom about leadership has assumed a sole visionary providing primary leadership for a group. The temptation, likewise, is to think that the answer…
Does Everyone in a Church Need to Know Everything?
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…
Bringing about Systemic Change through Social Entrepreneurship
I believe that an understanding of the concepts of social entrepreneurship is critical for church leaders who seek to effect real, sustainable change and address…
How to Communicate Change
Three years ago I was hired for my dream job: communications director for a large church. I came with more than 20 years of experience…
Navigating Shifting and Competing Values
When I have done strategic planning with congregations of older members, it is common to hear their values expressed as family, community, and faith. But…
What is “Adjacent Possible”? Can It Benefit Your Church?
Business scholar Rosabeth Moss Kanter has completed a two-year study of the nation’s infrastructure with a special focus on its transportation systems. Many of these…
Could Your Church Have Developed WD-40®?
The church today requires innovation, not improvement. Making things better through improvements is always welcomed, but we are past the time when merely improving what…
Sifting Our Inheritance: What to Keep and What to Let Go
A few years ago, my mom passed away after having lived a good life. Dad asked us to help him sort through my mother’s possessions.…
When is a Proposed Change a Deal Breaker?
God told Jeremiah “to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” These biblical directions are the definition…
Use Trial Periods for New Ideas
Lovett H. Weems Jr. says using a trial period to launch new ideas is a non-threatening approach. Trial periods also encourage feedback and engagement in…
Change Leaders Persevere
Regularly we remind others and ourselves that resurrection never happens until after a death. Yet often in leading a significant change, we panic. When the…
Learning to Fail Fast
While reading recent studies in leadership development trends, I was reminded of Paul’s call in Romans to be “transformed by the renewal of your minds.”…
What’s Good about That?
It’s good to pay attention to what’s going well. Most congregations — like most people — can accomplish more by building on their strengths than…
Old Habits Die Hard
I grew up working with my parents in our country grocery store. Those were days before the advent of large drug stores with hundreds of…
Nelson Mandela — A Leader for His Time
Late last year, the world paid tribute to the remarkable life of Nelson Mandela. Some said there had been nothing like it since the death…
Dreams Take Leadership…and Time
Will Campbell died earlier this summer. He was known as an eccentric Baptist preacher who fought fiercely for justice but was never comfortable with the…
Separating the Mission from the Medium
A year ago, Encyclopaedia Britannica announced they would cease producing bound volumes. It was a watershed moment when you consider this standard reference was the…
Unclutter Your Church
What needs to die in your church? We begin the journey of restarting your church by allowing for, even encouraging, places of death. We choose…
Surmounting Leadership Defeats
How do we rebound from setbacks to our best-laid attempts to exercise responsible leadership in ministry? I recently returned from a large denominational gathering where…
A Keystone Habit for Our Time
A much-talked-about book currently is The Power of Habit. The author, Charles Duhigg, attempts to answer the questions, “Why do habits exist, and how can…
