What are the larger trends that will shape the future of congregational life? Simply to place this question on the table can be an important act of leadership. Daily life as a congregational leader often places such a premium on…
Read MoreBorder Crossings: Churches Living Boldly into the Future
The statement hung in the air and caught my breath: “It seems to me that you might be finding yourself on the border between being safe and being alive.” For just a moment, time stopped. My heart leapt. Safe or…
Read MoreLeading for the Future
In the past, pastoral leadership was all about playing various roles: preacher, teacher, counselor, administrator, social activist, and more. In the future those roles will no longer describe the effective pastor. We already see signs of it. Pastors schooled in…
Read MoreBy the People, For the People: Seekers of Faith Increasingly Take “Church” into Their Own Hands
Something remarkable is happening here. Radio is springing free of the regulated gatekeepers who’ve managed what you could hear since radio was invented. It’s jumping into the hands of anyone at all, with something or nothing to say. — From…
Read MoreThis Thing Called Church: What Is It Really?
A lack of theological content and clarity may be at the core of the current malaise of many mainline Protestant congregations. It is my belief that an integral and vital relationship exists between our core convictions, our theology, and our…
Read MoreThe One Thing Necessary in Pastoral Colleague Relationships
I have concluded that there is one thing necessary for a marriage to succeed,” my father used to say. Now that I am 50 years old I am ready to hear him. This wasn’t always the case. My father was…
Read MoreLeading into the Promised Land: Lessons Learned From Resilient Congregations
Much of the literature in the field of congregational conflict is focused on what causes conflict, how to prevent it, and what to do when a church is already in conflict, but little has been written about congregations who have…
Read MoreBrain Science: Synesthetes and the Poets among Us
Ever wondered about the poets in your congregation? How they think, how they find words for their thoughts? You know them, right? These are the people who have an uncanny ability to capture life’s moments with especially evocative words and…
Read MoreBrain Science: The Charismatic Leader and the Brain, Part II
Welcome back to the second segment of a column devoted to the question, “What is happening when a charismatic person operates as a leader in a congregation?” Last month we thought about the interdependence of leaders and followers in a…
Read MoreBrain Science: The Charismatic Leader and the Brain, Part I
Ever wished you could be one of those church leaders who draw large crowds of listeners lost in the rapture of being in the presence of such a wonderful person? In your dreams, maybe? There you are: wavy-haired, strong and…
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