The planning retreat is an indispensable part of building successful board-staff collaborations, writes longtime congregational consultant and Alban author
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David Keck: Loving Accountability
Holding someone accountable is one way of loving someone deeply, writes David Keck.
Read MoreCourage Under Fire: Once the decision to fire an employee has been made
I was not surprised by the call. I knew that this pastor had been struggling for some time with a problem employee that he could not bring himself to fire. The employee was at times brilliant in her work, fulfilling…
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…
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 MoreGetting Staff to Share
This week, more from Judith Urban on creating a vibrant shared ministry system in your congregation, and the importance of cooperation between staff and ministry participants. For an introduction to shared ministry, see Shared Ministry Is Good for All Congregations….
Read MoreGreat Committees
In an old cartoon by Charles Addams, a man and his son walk through a park and look at statues, each of which depicts a little clutch of people. “There are no great men, my boy,” the father says, “only…
Read MoreTen Assumptions of Appreciative Inquiry
by Mark Lau Branson Many forms of organizational development assume that the job of leaders is to find the problems and fix them. Perhaps members observe that their church has a declining membership, a changing neighborhood, and a dearth of…
Read MoreWorship and Education for All
Over the past decade, worship attendance, annual giving, and participation in Christian education have doubled at the United Church of Christ in Norwell, Massachusetts. We have learned that tending to growth requires tending to worship and education for all ages….
Read MoreCongregational Management: A Holy Calling
Congregations are among the most fascinating systems anyone can be called to manage. Like all systems, they are filled with anxiety. Unlike most systems, they also are filled with a peace the world cannot give. Like most systems, they are…
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