Tom and I feel that Spiritual Midwives is one of the best metaphors for the type of leadership needed in the 21st century. This metaphor puts the emphasis not on what the leader accomplishes but what the leader helps others accomplish with their life.
The Spiritual midwife metaphor conveys the following clues for leadership in the […]
There are two ways to approach a new calling to a declining church. (1) Start slowly, build relationships, get the lay of the land, and then slowly effect changes. Ready, Aim, Fire. Or (2) Assess quickly, make changes, and then make adjustments. Ready, Fire, Aim.
The first method is the most common approach in ministry. […]
I became a Methodist because I read John Wesley during one of my desert periods. As a result I decided to join the United Methodist Church. But over the years I’ve learned that United Methodists aren’t very Methodist, at least not by Wesley’s standards. We aren’t vile enough. Let me explain.
When Whitefield invited Wesley […]
For the week of July 17, 2006
Making a Silk Purse Out of a Sow’s Ear
By: Bill Easum
Recently, I received two pieces of mail – one in the snail mail and one online. The snail mail article came from a person I’m not sure I know, but the article was from a religion professor at […]
For the week of February 07, 2005
Training
By: Tom Bandy
In most Congregational Mission Assessments, the most common failure in the system story of a growing, out-of-the-box church is that they are not rigorous and intentional enough training leaders. Perhaps they are too hasty to develop programs for increasing numbers of people; or perhaps they assume […]
Mazarr, Michael J. Global Trends for 2005: An Owner’s Manual for the Next Decad
St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1999) 330 pages, hardback, $27.95. Obtain from St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010)
Although the book is not written for church leaders, the author identifies a host of trends that will affect ministry […]
McNeal, ReggieThe Present Future: Six Tough Questions
It is not often a book plows new grounds. McNeal has succeeded in doing so. McNeal shares his thoughts on six emerging trends occurring today. While the trends are not new, the depth to which he develops them is new and powerful. This book is one of the […]
For a long time I’ve taught there are only two critical questions facing humankind:
What is it about my relationship to Christ that my neighbor needs to experience?
How can I rabidly share that relationship without coming off like a bigot?
Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola have made a major contribution to these two questions in […]
I had a conversation recently with a small group of mainline pastors and the conversation naturally turned to church transformation and church growth. When I asked how they measured whether their churches were growing, plateauing, or declining I started getting the typical excuses and defensive posturing I so often hear.
“Numbers aren’t important.”
“Numbers don’t really […]
Gallery