by Matt Cook | Jun 23, 2020 | leadership
They never taught us…how to pastor a church during a pandemic. They never taught us…what to do when news channels trained the members of our churches to look at the exact same events and see them in two totally different ways. They never taught us…what...
by Jayne Davis | Jun 16, 2020 | prayer
Who knew it was such an exhausting commute from the coffee pot in the kitchen to my office in the upstairs bonus room? Just 16 steps. Each way. I counted. It’s one of the quirky things you do on Day 89 of...
by Matt Cook | Jun 10, 2020 | healthy congregation
At the Center for Healthy Churches we don’t tend to dwell on controversial topics. We’re an organization that focuses on congregational best practices. Hiring well, articulating a clear vision, being intentional with stewardship—these practices aren’t always easy but...
by Bill Wilson | Jun 2, 2020 | future
I wish you were more curious. I wish we were more curious. I wish I were more curious. Right now, we desperately need churches, leaders and organizations that are curious. We need to be asking questions and exploring new insights. We need to confess our...
by Doug Haney | May 26, 2020 | Music
“God is calling through the whisper of the Spirit’s deepest sighs.” –Mary Louise BringleWe’ve all done it. Whispering in worship, that is. Maybe it was speaking to a squirming child or perhaps it was a comment to our pew-partner that simply couldn’t...
by Joel Snider | May 19, 2020 | future
I read a story recently by a man who lived in Houston during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. He and his neighbors felt a deep, intrinsic reward the first few days of shoveling muck from their homes, hosing off belongings, and saving their...
by CHC | May 12, 2020 | Adapting
Like many at the start of this pandemic lockdown I went all Marie Kondo on my home. In the process I came across handwritten notes from a talk Ron Heifetz (Godfather of Adaptive Change) gave several years ago. An audience member posed a question...
by Matt Cook | May 5, 2020 | Christian
In the second and third centuries two different pandemics swept the Ancient Roman world. Many Roman cities were densely populated (by some estimates Ancient Rome was three times more densely populated per square mile than modern day New York City) which made them...
by David Hull | Apr 28, 2020 | coronavirus, preaching
John Ruskin once wrote, “Preaching is thirty minutes to raise the dead.” This well-worn quote is worth hearing again. While our preaching during this pandemic may be shorter than thirty minutes due to online attention spans, the cultural moment that is...
by Barry Howard | Apr 23, 2020 | Uncategorized
Church looks and feels very different right now. For the past six to seven weeks, as a proactive expression of love for our people and our communities, most of our churches have been gathering online for worship, Bible study, and committee meetings rather than...
