From time to time I write an article on what my travels across the U.S. are teaching me. It has been awhile since I have shared my observations, so I thought I would pass on a few of the major trends I am seeing that I think will change the shape of things to […]
The following is one of our most asked-for blog posts. It was written two decades ago, but it is still as relevant today as it was then.
Throughout all my consulting ministry, I have seen a disturbing pattern: most established churches are held hostage by one or two bullies. Either one individual or a small group […]
Warren Bird
Jossy-Bass, 2011
If you’ve been in church leadership for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard of the Pareto Principle, or the 80–20 rule. Simply stated, the principle suggests that 20 percent do the work and the 80 percent watch. It has all sorts of corollaries such as 20 percent of what a person […]
By Bill Tenny-Brittian
Quick, what’s the most used appliance in your house?
For most North American homes it’s the television. The average American adult spends about four hours a day watching TV and our children and youth generally spend even more time. And though I recommend “fasting” from the television from time to time, there are […]
Want a vision that sticks? You need these three pillars!
You walk into a church and what do you see? Stained glass windows, perhaps. A pulpit, most likely. But what about the invisible architecture? The stuff you can’t see but can definitely feel. I’m talking about the vision of the church. And let’s face it, […]
Dr. Bruce Stevens reflects on a key reason many of our evangelism efforts are ineffective … and the reasons why might surprise you.
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In the Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:1–9) Jesus
observed that the ground can be rock hard. Generations of preachers have
concluded that the good news will not […]
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to work with advising several churches on their marketing strategies. These churches ranged from quite small to rather large – but they all had one thing in common: they were investing their bulk of their marketing dollars in mediums that brought them exactly zero results.
Take […]
The lights went out during worship last week. All of them. The ones overhead. The platform spotlights. The projector’s bright beam. Even the multicolored LEDs on the sound board went out.
They’d lost power.
In retrospect, everything turned out alright. There was enough light streaming in through the stained glass windows that most people could both […]
Worship in a Postmodern Culture
Alan Roxburgh compares the lingering Christendom mindset among relevance-challenged clergy to a pleasure ride on the river Seine. Picture, if you will, an ecclesiastical barge filled with graying church leaders, who, – between discussions about historical criticism, incomprehensible invocations, and hopelessly obtuse prayers – nod approvingly as the edifices of Christendom’s […]
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