I was fortunate enough that my formative years experienced incremental change. I saw lots of changes, TV, commercial air travel, atomic bomb, A/C, cell phones to name just a few, but each of these changes took place slowly enough for me to adapt easily to them. I spent years watching black and white TV […]
I’m posting this blog on September 11th, the day Americans, if not most of the world, are remembering the lives lost because of the airplanes that were hijacked by Islamic terrorists and intentionally crashed into the world trade center, the pentagon, and the one that was ditched into a field in Pennsylvania.
I am also […]
When it comes to first-time visitors, you may be surprised to learn that perhaps the most influential person your guests will meet isn’t your worship leader. It’s not the choir director, Christian education leader, or the board chair. It’s not even your pastor. Believe it or not, probably the most influential person your first-timers meet is your […]
Property
By: Tom Bandy
Do we buy and renovate, rent and redecorate, or build and design? Any of the alternatives might be a good move, but in order to make a decision with integrity, consider three things:
Priority: The order of priority for budget and energy is leadership development, then community development, and then property development. If […]
Having a vision is one thing; knowing how to cast so it sticks is another. If you want to align your congregation with the vision so they’re moving forward, you’ll have to be more effective in your vision casting. Let me share with you how I did it over a twenty-four year period in […]
What is S.O.A.P.?
S.O.A.P. stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer. It is a way of getting more out of your time in God’s word. Wayne Cordeiro of New Hope, Oahu introduced us to this devotional study plan … and be fair, I use a form of it almost every day.
How does it work?
It’s quite […]
For the week of February 21, 2005
Location, Location, Location
By: Tom Bandy
You’ve seen the real estate ads emphasizing the importance of having a home close to all the conveniences of school, shopping, work, and leisure. The same applies to the church. Your church building was originally constructed on your site because at the time it […]
We all know that churches grow when they create a flow of experience that draws seekers into a process that shapes disciples. The language to describe this is something like, “Welcome, Grow, Send”. I refer to the fives steps of “Change, Gift, Call, Equip, and Send”. The graphic you see on any given website […]
From a participant on the Advanced forum (To join click here
Dear Forum Colleagues:
At Trinity Lutheran Church in west suburban St. Louis (Track 1), we are coming to the climax of the “visioning” or DNA formation process. We have our Core Values and Bedrock Beliefs solidly in place. In fact, they helped us weather a […]
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