The Jazz Church by N. Graham StandishI like jazz. Not so much smooth jazz or the modal jazz popular among many modern jazz artists, but the progressive jazz fusion of the 1970s and early 1980s. This jazz was inspired by Miles…
Read MoreTen Things We Know about Synagogue Leadership
While the American synagogue was built with the financial support of what are commonly called three-day-a-year Jews, referring to those who may attend the synagogue for worship only on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, that generation of occasional synagogue attendees…
Read MoreShifts You Should Know About
Question: What are some of the emerging trends that you see in congregations as they adapt to a changing environment? Answer: This is a question I’m asked frequently, either by curious participants at a workshop or by members of a…
Read MoreGuidelines for Leading Meetings
You may share the sentiment captured in Barnett Cock’s remark, “A committee is a cul-de-sc down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled.” This somewhat humorous, tongue-in-cheek analogy may have more than a grain of truth for members of…
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A Church for Our Grandchildren
What kind of church will we hand over to our children and grandchildren? The answer will largely depend upon the kind of leaders we train for the church in our time. And chief among those leaders are the pastors who…
Read MoreWhy Do You Sit Where You Do?
“What do you mean, why do we sit where we do?” The group stared blankly at Pastor Mark. “If the sermon was only about interacting with the preacher,” Pastor Mark answered thoughtfully, “you’d all be sitting in the first few…
Read MoreAnd Then the Rules Changed
During the past three decades or so, six societal trends have reshaped many professions in a diverse range of industries. In this relatively short period of time, we have moved from the age of organizations toward the age of networks;…
Read MoreThe Power of Good Questions
I want to look more closely at the basic assumption that questions (inquiry) asked in an appreciative (positive) way have such power to change a community’s practices. I’ll look first at the power of questions, and then I’ll ask whether…
Read MoreCaring about the Conditions of the World
Moses’s father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. Now listen…
Read MoreA Well in the Distance
Reframing Hope is currently the subject of a three part series at Religion in American History. Be sure to read the posts by Seth Dowland, Steven Miller, and the upcoming one on October 4, 2013 by Brantley Gassaway. Hagar stood in the desert with…
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