Several years ago, I wrote the following Christmas Eve fantasy account. It was a compilation of some of the Christmas Eve hospitality practices that I’ve experienced in churches I’ve led as well as some things that I’ve seen in other churches. Since it was published, I’ve heard of several churches who have taken on […]
Five good books for creating a Mission Statement:
The Path, by Laurie Beth Jones, New York, NY, Hyperion, 1996Managing By Values, by Ken Blanchard and Michael O’Connor, San Francisco, Berrett- Koehler Publishers, 1997****Building A Shared Vision, C. Patrick Lewis, Portland, OR, Productivity Press, 1997Built to Last, James Collins, and Jerry Porras, Harper Business, 1997Clarifying our […]
I spent the last week at a mainline’s church planter and church transformation training event. I wish I could say I was surprised at how great the training was. I wish. But the fact is, the training was long on the right theology and light on practicalities like the importance of evangelism in starting […]
I was having a conversation with a church’s staff members the other day and mentioned that the six words church leaders should dread are, “That won’t happen again, will it?” As in, if that continues then we’re going to have to make a change by getting someone who will ensure “that” doesn’t happen again.
Related: […]
By Bill Tenny-Brittian
One of my biggest concerns about my House Church colleagues in other networks is that they tend to write articles, columns, and books on how the more established building-based churches are out of touch with God’s vision for the church and how the House Church is really the only church God had in mind. […]
I suppose it’s out there somewhere, but I’ve never found it: the church that has more leaders than it knows what to do with. In fact, most churches I visit have a leadership vacuum. There appears to be more ministries and missions than there are dedicated disciples willing to lead them.
How can your church […]
The majority of churches in North America have been experiencing over a decade of decline or plateau. Often, common sense prevails and church leaders will endeavor to put church growth plans into place that will grow their church on a slow, and yet consistent, basis. The fact is, though, churches rarely grow slowly and […]
By Bill Easum
The words we use denote who we are and how we view the world. Change some of the words you use and you’re on the way to changing the system.
That’s why I hate the word “volunteer.” To me the word has come to mean “I’ll give you what I want to give […]
In a previous post I suggested there was a need for new – or renewed – language for church leaders. As wonderful as having new language might be, there’s an underlying issue that I’ve become increasingly aware of. Many, if not most, clergy in today’s North American church are well trained pastors, but when […]
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