by Phill Martin | Nov 13, 2018 | healthy congregation
#MeToo, a social media movement that began in November 2017, has ignited awareness of and accountability for sexual harassment. This new awareness of the abuse of power will hopefully cause all of us to pause and think about the congregation’s response. The reality of...
by Bill Wilson | Nov 7, 2018 | Adapting, change
I have had the privilege of working with numerous congregations to clarify their identity and lean into the future proactively. When that has gone well, one consequence has nearly always been true. The fresh vision requires a significant shift in the organizational...
by Bill Wilson | Oct 31, 2018 | staffing
One of the most frequent conversations we have with churches has to do with finances and staff. Specifically, with the majority of churches plateaued or declining, intense pressure is often brought to bear upon church staffing ...
by Jim Kitchens | Oct 23, 2018 | discernment
When we at CHC do a visioning process with churches, we always start by explaining to the congregation that the work we are doing together is more profound than corporate strategic planning or the visioning exercises with which they may be familiar from their...
by Bob Dale | Oct 16, 2018 | healthy ministry
In the Industrial Age, national and regional denominations had a religious monopoly, producing and providing programs for local churches. Pre-planned activities and structures, like gumballs, were placed in the chute in Nashville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, or...
by Bill Owen | Oct 9, 2018 | leadership
Today’s church faces great uncertainty and risk. To be alive and well calls for trusted leadership. Imagine two lists: One contains the qualities that a pastor should have, and another that includes the attributes most pastors would say they wouldn’t choose to lead...
by David Hull | Oct 2, 2018 | Christian, Uncategorized
Not many people quote Chuck Colson and William Sloane Coffin in the same breath. That is one of the problems in the church today. We draw lines in the sand between liberal and conservative and tend to camp out on one side of the line or other. However, if we really...
by Bill Wilson | Sep 25, 2018 | leadership
I recently had the privilege of teaching a week-long Doctor of Ministry seminar in a seminary to a group of very bright and thoughtful students. Our topic was leadership that is adaptive, visionary, innovative and entrepreneurial. We read some fine books on the...
by Joel Snider | Sep 18, 2018 | layperson, Uncategorized
I have known dozens of churches well. Some I served; some were served by colleagues. Others were neighboring congregations. A few of these churches handled difficulties well. They took the initiative to deal with problems in the earliest stages. They set...
by Barry Howard | Sep 11, 2018 | pastor search committee
When a congregation welcomes a new pastor, it is an exciting time, a new beginning for both the congregation and the new minister. To maximize this new beginning, it is important to prepare spiritually, cognitively, and emotionally for a new chapter. Once a call to a...
