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...
by Mike Queen | Apr 20, 2020 | focus
“Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow. Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here.It’ll be, better than before. Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone.” These lyrics from an old Fleetwood Mac song call us to let go of yesterday and look forward to tomorrow. While most of us are...
by Bill Wilson | Apr 14, 2020 | future
My friend Mike Smith (recently retired pastor at Central Baptist Church, Fountain City TN and thinker extraordinaire) and I have been speculating about what is on the horizon for congregations and parishes as the next phase of the Covid-19 shutdown takes place. We’ve...
by Barry Howard | Apr 7, 2020 | Self-Care
If it feels like your emotions are “all over the map” during these days of sequester and “physical distancing,” you are not alone. In addition to altering our schedules and delaying many of our plans, the closures and life interruptions will likely disrupt our sense...
by Phill Martin | Mar 31, 2020 | Self-Care
As a church staff leader, are you in information and support options overload? These opportunities are coming to us quickly and with ever-changing details. New laws, technology, challenges, upset schedules, and unknown answers. I know I’m in overload, perhaps...
by Matt Cook | Mar 25, 2020 | future
I still remember the moment I first saw the spaghetti models for Hurricane Florence heading right for us. I’m not a native North Carolinian and most of the folks who’d grown up on the coast told me not worry too much until it was a lot closer, but...
by Bill Wilson | Mar 18, 2020 | future
The coronavirus crisis has taken us off the rails we thought were permanent and dependable. Congregations are facing a future that we have no precedent for or roadmap to navigate. There is a sense of disorientation, fear and bewilderment among leaders and judicatories...
by Bill Owen | Mar 17, 2020 | spiritual discernment, Uncategorized
There’s no denying the stress in recent days surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak. The reaction has been fast and fluid—the Dow Jones dropping some 4,000 points in two days, the NCAA conference tournaments and March Madness cancelling, along with the NBA, MLS, university...
by Jim Kitchens | Mar 10, 2020 | declining congregation, future
One of the projects I’m working on these days is to help three presbyteries in the Mountain West think about their future. All three are experiencing the decline with which most American churches wrestle. All three been helping churches...
by Joel Snider | Mar 3, 2020 | strategic planning
The coronavirus has replaced politics as the headline news during the past week. The stock market had a record week of losses while individuals who had hoarded surgical masks and gloves have made questionable profits on eBay. Personal...
