When we are entangled in conflict, it is difficult to fathom that anything in the situation could be transformed, much less that there are spiritual dimensions to it. Yet I have worked with and lived with conflict long enough to…
Read MoreThe Language of Leadership: Defining the Environment
The conversation you are hearing sounds violent. People are talking about “bringing in the big guns” and “rallying the troops.” You hear that people got “shot down” or “blown away,” and now there is talk about the need to “fall…
Read MoreRespectfully Disagreeing: How Dialogue Works to Transform Conflict
The work of the Public Conversations Project (PCP) is often summarized in a single word: dialogue. But such a simple and often-used term is insufficient to describe the care, planning, and skill underlying the work of those who call themselves…
Read MoreA Pioneering Spirit: Speed Leas Celebrates Four Decades of Conflict Management Consulting
What would motivate someone who never has enjoyed being in a conflict—whether his own or someone else’s—to spend almost four decades in the midst of congregational conflicts? “I’m curious,” explains Speed B. Leas, a long-time Alban Institute consultant who has…
Read MoreOptimism for the Church Amid Declining Attendance
The decline and revitalization of Protestantism has been a hot topic for several decades. Some point to the move away from Protestantism as the majority faith affiliation in the United States as evidence that the mainline church (and, in some…
Read MoreHow Well Do You Keep 'Sabbath Time'?
In their book The Spiritual Leader’s Guide to Self-Care, Rochelle Melander and Harold Eppley offer a quick checklist to help readers examine how well they keep “sabbath time.” Check each statement that is true for you: __ I always take…
Read MoreNetiquette for Congregations
A revolution in digital communication has hit many congregations. And, like many revolutions, we are finding that this one has its casualties. There is the pastor who gets an ornery email that feels like the last straw at the end…
Read MoreA Church of Purposeful Practice
“I really felt called to reach out to people like me, people who had been turned off by the church but were really spiritually hungry,” says Rev. N. Graham Standish of Calvin Presbyterian Church in a recent article by Ann Rodgers in…
Read MoreDoes Your Congregation Have a New Year's Resolution?
Congregations, like individuals, often make resolutions for the new year. If your congregation still is mulling over possibilities for the year, Raising the Roof contains ideas that could spark a resolution or two. Visit www.sizetransitions.org for more about the book and…
Read MoreAlban to Launch Large-Church Network
Each congregational size presents its own opportunities and challenges, as well as its own set of leadership needs. In a recent Alban survey of pastors of large congregations (worship attendance of 500-2,000) and denominational professionals with responsibility to work with…
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