I saw Enders Game on its opening day and fell in love with the movie. Not because I love sci-fi over all other movie genres (I do). Not because Harrison Ford is my favorite swashbuckling actor (he is). And not even because I thought it had a great plot, great writing, great acting, and great […]
Bill Tenny-Brittian
Dr. Bill Tenny-Brittian is the Managing Partner for 21st Century Strategies. The pastor of churches from coast to coast, he's led and helped hundreds of churches and thousands of leaders through the growing pains of growth. He's Editor in Chief of Net Results Magazine and the author of several books including Hitchhikers' Guide to Evangelism, Prayer for People Who Can't Sit Still, and co-author with Bill Easum of Effective Staffing for Vital Churches. He lives in Missouri with Dr. Kris Tenny-Brittian.
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November 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Changing a Congregation’s Ethos … Not an Overnight Job (But Doable)
This is an excerpt from my upcoming book 21st Century Strategies for Church Growth. Too many church members, indeed too many churches, carry an attitude of entitlement rather than commitment. They act as if they’ve paid their admission price and now the rest of the church has to coddle and cow-tow to their every whim. […]
November 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Classic Worship Leaders and Worship Bands
Music isn’t a part of worship for today’s generations – it is the primary act of worship. Whereas classic worship services break up songs with other worship tools, such as responsive readings, prayers, etc., successful alternative worship services produce music “sets,” similar to a concert with one song leading directly into another for a sustained […]
October 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
It’s Nominations Time: Thou Shalt Not Settle
Here’s yet another excerpt from 21st Century Strategies for Church Growth. One of the missing ingredients in today’s church is accountability. As church leaders, we are often so grateful to have volunteers who serve that we’re willing to overlook poor attitudes, bad behavior, and even a lack of integrity. In other words, we settle for […]
September 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Avoiding Planning Paralysis
I caught an article in this month’s Entrepreneur magazine (Oct 2103) by Sam Hogg, professor at the Michigan Business School that got me to thinking. He said that students are always asking about entrepreneurism and he shared a couple of the most common questions. It was his first question that sent me into effective church […]
September 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A Quiet Mainline Rant
There are lots of things that frustrate church consultants. For me, at least lately, the biggest bang-my-head-against-a-wall issue is “denominational distractions.” Let me give you a real-world example. Last summer, my denomination (Disciples of Christ) took a historical vote on who’s welcome on which side of the Lord’s Table. We’re not the first mainline denomination […]
September 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The Church Leader Mandate
This is a VERY brief excerpt from my upcoming book 21st Century Strategies for Church Growth. A Note to Church Leaders: Church leaders have a different mandate than the average church member. At large church members are charged with the care of one-another (other Christians and fellow church members in particular). Church leaders, however, are […]
September 18, 2013 by 5 Comments
Stop Inviting People to Church … and Grow Your Church Anyway
This weekend I’m working with a church that desperately wants to grow … well, the pastor wants it to grow. He asked his core leaders about their inviting experiences and to a one they all said shades of the same thing: “I’ve invited all my friends to church and they’re not interested.” Well, Duh!! Unless […]
September 7, 2013 by 1 Comment
Re-Think Your Budget Priorities
I was reading an article by Amy Butler on the ABP News site recently on the season of church budgets. She was responding to a writer who was comparing church budgets with other Non Profit Organizations. Basically, the writer was complaining that the church spent too much money on staff and buildings and not enough […]
August 31, 2013 by 8 Comments
Why Most Church Mission Statements Aren’t Effective
A mission statement defines the purpose of an individual, group, business, or institution. Ostensibly, a mission statement defines the “end result” of the organization’s activities. “Shareholder profitability” may sound self-serving, but that is exactly the results expected of a publicly held corporation. The reason so many churches’ mission statements don’t achieve the expected results is […]
