I have found the Christmas Eve sermon the hardest one to prepare. The biblical story has little to do with where listeners..
As I consult with Presbyterian congregations, the same scenario keeps recurring: In 1966 the church was full; today, after five decades of..
Like marriage, confirmation is about the church’s desire to be a player in people‘s lives. It would serve better if it stopped..
Sunday morning is a non-starter for most young singles and young families. So how about Wednesday evening? I asked my 36-year-old..
I recently taught at Kenyon Institute’s writing seminar for religious professionals. Most of the work was about writing well: effective essays, blogs,..
Beware the “graying” of the church – says the common wisdom. I have been among those sounding the alarm as the average..
My first glimpse of why metrics matter came on a golf course when my playing partner showed up angry. His church had..
Should we include the treasurer’s report in the e-letter?” a church secretary asked me. We were working on a switch from..
As Sunday morning loses its hold on churchgoers and potential churchgoers, what comes next? How do faith communities nurture relationships? How do..
It is time for congregations to develop protocols for responding to hate initiatives on their doorsteps. As the intolerant lose any..
The final stage of an effective membership recruitment process happens when the constituent actually affiliates with your congregation. For some that will..
Until the day your congregants get biblical about tithing, your stewardship efforts will depend mostly on membership development. Grow your congregation and..
While my wife browsed T.J. Maxx for trousers, I sat on a curb outside and observed people going in and out of..
"We're stuck, aren't we?" asked several participants in a recent church workshop. Yes, they are stuck. So are many churches – and..
I had a stark revelation in February as I drove across the Mojave Desert on day three of “Fresh Day on the..
Effective leadership has three requirements: A compelling vision (where we want to get); Incremental steps (what we will do next to get there);..
I see stirrings of annual church stewardship pro- grams: pledge cards in the mail, appeals in writing and from the pulpit, maybe..
Many factors determine a congregation's health – from quality of leadership to clarity of mission to location to financial strength. No factor,..
For many years, churches used the language of “belonging.” Now we find ourselves in a world where “belonging” has changed and, for..
I figure 1957 was the high-water mark of mainline Protestantism in the U.S. Although mainline churches kept growing until 1965, it..
Church leaders often worry that Sunday morning is the ”most segregated day of the week.” On Sunday, churchgoers gather inside congregations that..
Some church leaders call it a “challenge budget,” others a “faith budget.” I call it a bad idea. Faced with a gap..
As I contemplate moving my home and office to a rural area of upstate New York, I worry about being isolated and..
From time to time, traumatic events in society require the congregation to make response. Recent shootings at University of California Santa Barbara..
Church development is about many things — best practices, capable leadership, listening to the world — but the most difficult to grasp,..
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