Advent is one of a few times each year when a pastor sees the full range of people who are engaged with the congregation. Even those with the most distant connections show up to Christmas services. But is that happening…
Read MoreLeading when you don’t know the way
When the path forward is obvious, it is relatively easy for a leader to know what to do. We can rely on strategies that have worked well in the past. We can use existing resources and relationships to solve problems,…
Read MoreDon’t let the vision perish
Are you thinking about your church’s vision for 2022? How does it compare to your vision for 2021? One critical tool influences the success of every vision. That tool is a good strategy. Without strategic leadership, we frustrate ourselves and lead a…
Read MoreThe local church: post-pandemic, but not post-COVID
After major crises, leaders encourage us to get back to normal. Sometimes that’s impossible, though. A new reality emerges, and the old “normal” never returns. What changes have you made in your organization in the last 18 months that are…
Read MoreHow to make better decisions
Congregations make critical decisions about things that really matter – budgets, starting new programs, eliminating programs, personnel. In so many of the decision-making meetings I attend, we spend tons of energy promoting a decision we reached before the meeting even…
Read MoreSearching for a pastor is sacred work
Clergy know the long periods of silence between contacts from a pastor search committee. Congregation members know the even-longer period between substantive reports about the activities of a search committee. The members of such committees are very, very busy —…
Read MoreChange & transition
It was William Bridges who helpfully named that there is a difference between change and transition — change is situational, whereas transition is psychological. Change can happen in a moment, but transition — adapting to that change — lasts much longer. In…
Read MoreIntegrity, mission & morale: How to rehabilitate in the midst of pandemics
My colleague Dave Odom recently wrote that, to begin the process of rehabilitating from the past year, congregations and other organizations need a plan that attends to integrity, mission and morale. In this Weekly, we explore those three focal points of…
Read MoreWhat if the best way forward is to stop?
In congregational strategic planning processes, eventually a version of this question gets asked — “What do you need to stop doing in order to live out your mission as faithfully as possible?” In some congregations, this “stop doing” list is easily generated…
Read MoreWe can’t “go back to normal”
Early in the pandemic, the question I heard most from congregational leaders around the United States and from the members of my own congregation in North Carolina was, “When will things get back to normal?” As days of sheltering at home became…
Read More