Who is with you this Advent?

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…

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Leading 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,…

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Don’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…

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The 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…

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How 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…

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Searching 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 —…

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Change & 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…

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What 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…

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We 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…

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