Some pundits see a silver lining in our recent economic troubles: Americans have finally kicked the habit of conspicuous consumption. I’ll believe it when I see it. Over the last couple of years, I have consulted with a number of…
Read MoreThe Need for Stress and Conflict
Despite the ideal image of the loving, peaceful congregation in which everyone is happy—an image deeply ingrained in most all of us—leaders at times need to encourage conflict. They need to act in ways that make conflict inevitable. They need…
Read MoreHard-Times Leadership: Discerning the Spiritual Challenges
Are the financial “hard times” we face a test of our institutional resilience and savvy, or a test of faith? Most of us would acknowledge that they are both. But are we aware of the spiritual challenges that lie at…
Read MoreFootsteps Not To Be Followed: Ten Mistakes Churches Make When Applying for Grants
As Sunday offerings have gone down for many congregations, their interest in alternative revenue sources has gone up. Many churches are now considering grant funding as a way to support some ministry programs. In my twenty-plus years of writing grant…
Read MoreThe Leading Edge: Faith and Money—Going Beneath the Surface
This issue of Congregations returns to a recurring Alban interest, the economic realities of congregational life. Global economic events of the past two years give this often neglected topic more urgency than normal. In these pages you will read about the…
Read MoreCENTERview: Small Is Beautiful
People don’t realize we’ve been doing ‘small group ministry’ for 150 years!” This comment from the leader of one of the many small congregations across the country got a laugh from the ministerial association of a small southern Indiana town,…
Read MoreThe Case for Multifaith Education
As a rabbi who directs a multifaith center in a Christian seminary, I often get asked about multifaith education. People ask me, “What curriculum should I use?” or “How can we teach our students about other religions?” Even more often…
Read MoreGetting to the Heart of the Matter
As a consultant to congregations, I am often called to work with churches that are stuck. Leaders are aware that something is holding the congregation back from achieving its full potential, but they cannot get a clear enough perspective to…
Read MoreThe Pastor as Narrative Leader
Humans are living stories of experience. Our lives can be scripted like a narrative. In fact, when we think of individual lives in this way, what we discover is that those who live what seem to be successful lives have…
Read MoreWhy Would Laypeople Want Theological Education, Anyway?
In this new world, this global village we inhabit, growing ever more complicated and accessible through science and technology, many of us think daily about the meaning and purpose of our lives. We are mindful of the decisions that need…
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