For Long-Tenured Pastors
Anyone who has stayed at a growing church for more than 15 years knows that several things are inevitable. Sooner or later you will hit burnout. I did my 10th year. It was so severe that I told my board I wanted to quit. Instead they sent me off for a three-month sabbatical. It was […]
The Summer Express: What I’ve Learned from Locomotion
It’s always bothered me to spend months busting my backside to get an effective ministry launched in September/October only to have it roll to a virtual stop by mid-June. Sure, there are lots of excuses for the “summer slump,” but it turns out that most of these slumps happen because churches don’t just get “ready” […]
Summer Slump is Coming
The “summer slump” that many declining churches experience is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Most declining churches actually take actions that lead to a summer slump: they combine worship services and the choir takes the summer off. No wonder church attendance is down in the summer. Ever wonder what would happen if your church was a year-round […]
Planning for a Summer Hump Instead of a Summer Slump
It goes without saying that most pastors know that worship attendance in the summer usually marks the all time low for the year. We know not only attendance but income will slump. We don’t think it has to, at least not as much as most churches experience. We think the Summer Slump is almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. […]
Transformational Fallout
Think you’re going to lead your church successfully through the next growth barrier? You might want to think again – seriously. The success rate for barrier-breaking is less than 20 percent, and if you happen to be in a mainline denomination, your odds just dropped to 10 percent. The real bad news is this (and “this” […]
Waiting for the Next Something
On my way back from a church conference, I got on an airplane with more than its fair share of church leaders on it. This particular conference had been wildly popular and the keynote speakers frequently reminded us for the need to be faithful, effective, and efficient. The men and women in attendance seemed to […]