by Jim Belcher
by Jim Belcher
Over the past decade a serious rift has occurred within western Protestantism. Traditional (I prefer the term “established”) Christianity and the Emergent movement have squared off with each other in what looks like a battle to the death. Both sides have been guilty of prejudice, selfish indulgence, and just downright […]
Established churches in North America, once giants of innovation and passion, are now on the brink of irrelevance and boredom. In the span of thirty years a large number of established churches in North America have gone from riches to rags. Systems theorists tell us that in times of great change, such as today, […]
When I get called in as a consultant to work with stuck, plateaued, or declining churches I have a couple of things I look for right off the bat. In the vast majority of the cases I discover that their inability to grow, let alone sustain, their membership is caused by one of six […]
(New York:; Basic Books:: 1996, 277 pgs., hardback. Obtain from Harper Collins. $25.00)
Baily has struck a home run in his reading of history. He identifies three revolutions that have changed the way humans think. The first revolution was geometry. Ancient people wanted to know where they were in relation to the universe. The math […]
For the week of October 10, 2005
Get People Involved in a New Church Start
By: Paul Nickerson
The old image of a new church start was a “parachute”. A new church start pastor was “parachuted” in, under the cover of darkness, without any neighboring congregations having any idea this was happening. Resentment often followed, and the […]
I visited a church recently … a LARGE church … that everyone told me was so edgy when it came to technology. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement and it prompted me to write the following article that appeared in the Easum, Bandy & Associates On Track Ezine. I put the […]
It’s said that the average leader spends 80 percent of their time doing little that will further their mission. That means that the important stuff gets short shrift by a bunch. What would happen if the average leader spent 80 percent of their time on the real important stuff … on those tasks that […]
My friend Elmer Towns just finished a book: The Ten Most Influential Churches of the Past Century. In the book, he gives a thorough examination of the contribution of each church. As always, his research and analysis of what makes a church historically influential is impeccable. And you may be surprised at which churches are […]
It’s said that the average leader spends 80 percent of their time doing little that will further their mission. That means that the important stuff gets short shrift by a bunch. What would happen if the average leader spent 80 percent of their time on the real important stuff … on those tasks that […]
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