It’s time to start asking new questions. Better answers to the same old questions about the church will not get us through the tumultuous times in which we live. This is a time for out-of-the box thinking. Old questions keep is in the box. New questions invite us to move outside, writes Jeffrey D. Jones […]
Congregational leadership involves seeing the holy in the congregation’s members and the quotidian activities of the church and trying to bring that holiness out in partnership with God and others. But in the business of congregational life, it is easy to lose our way, focus on product rather than persons, become overwhelmed by the tasks of ministry, and forget that we are always on holy ground as we interact with God’s beloved children. What can we do? Here are some ideas. (Photo by Lel4nd, used by Creative Commons license)
After four decades of providing authoritative publications, consultants and workshops for congregations and pastors, the Alban Institute has announced it will close its doors, according to Religion News Service. Read the Alban Institute’s statement.
Health is a process, not a thing or state. It is ongoing, dynamic, and ever changing. Health is a direction, not a destination, a once-and-for-all property. Congregational leaders are the key stewards of the congregation as a unit in itself. (Photo by Antti Nissinen, used by Creative Commons license)
You remember the old story about the blind men who, each touching a different part of an elephant, draw different, incorrect conclusions about the nature of an elephant. The point is, the complexity of the elephant precludes anyone comprehending the whole. How can this observation apply to congregations? Church systems expert Peter Steinke explains. (Photo […]
