Today’s polarized climate often frustrates leaders in their efforts to bring about meaningful and lasting change within their congregations and communities. Opposition can rise quickly and unexpectedly even to seemingly benign initiatives and programs. So how do we help lead…
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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…
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“If your vision is ambitious, you will always need more staff than you can afford, no matter what resources you have at your disposal.” So says Dan Hotchkiss, a former Alban senior consultant and now one of the consultants of…
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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have learned a great deal more about the inequities and injustices in American society. As in-person life resumes in much of the country, we are forced to ask how we will live and…
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If you’re like me, you’ve read a lot about generational differences in participation in religious communities. These differences mean that congregations are having to find creative and diverse ways of engaging younger generations in ministry and service. In this edition…
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In the United States, last weekend — Memorial Day — marks the unofficial beginning of summer’s season of vacations, travel, and (hopefully) rest. We at Alban hope that you have something planned that feels renewing and life-giving in the weeks…
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There’s so much discernment happening in congregations right now: discernment about when and how to offer in-person worship; about how to balance the needs of an in-person and an online congregation; about how to meet the physical needs of our…
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It’s been our core work at Alban for more than four decades now — strengthening congregations by supporting and equipping their leaders for the challenges and opportunities before them. This week, we pause our look at the future for hybrid…
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One of the changes that the pandemic has brought to many congregations is that geographic proximity is no longer a primary factor in determining who participates in our congregational life. A family-sized congregation reports that former members who moved across the country…
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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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