by CHC | Sep 21, 2020 | conflict
Have you and your congregation heard? There is an election coming in just a few short weeks. If your congregation is like most I’ve seen, not only are members aware that an election is coming; they have some opinions regarding the outcome. What strategies and...
by Guy Sayles | Sep 21, 2020 | conflict
To say the least and the obvious, we live in a time of confusion and upheaval. It’s well-known that St. Anthony the Great, one of the church’s Desert Fathers, said: “A time is coming when people will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack...
by Matt Cook | Sep 21, 2020 | conflict
“I need to talk to you about what you said in your sermon yesterday.” I guess I should have expected it. It was in the days after violence had erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia. As a pastor I’d spoken about the events that had taken place and while my criticisms...
by CHC | Sep 6, 2020 | change, conflict
A compelling example of leaders turning conflict into opportunity for structural and cultural change is found in the first seven verses of Acts 6. The idyllic description of the first Christian community (Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-37) is soon marred by incidents of...
by Craig Sherouse | Sep 4, 2020 | conflict
Leaders are change agents, and change causes conflict. Change often comes through a visioning process. Receiving, developing, casting and implementing a vision stresses the system. Systems like homeostasis. Some visioning experts say that 20% of church members will...
by Bill Wilson | Sep 4, 2020 | conflict
CXAs a child, my neighborhood friends and I loved to play on a train track near our house. Foolish, I know, but quite fun and exhilarating. We learned to tell when a train was coming long before it actually appeared. We would put our ears to the rail and hear the...
by Joel Snider | Aug 24, 2020 | Technology
Part One of this article described the rapid digital transformation happening around us. When in-person church is safe again, we will feel like Rip Van Winkle. We will awake to the online world of 2030. Let’s consider some steps you can start today in order to...
by Joel Snider | Aug 24, 2020 | change, future
Part One: Waking Up in the Future Microsoft Corporation says COVID-19 has accelerated the technological transformation of our society. A year of digital change now happens every month. On average, each month, the number of people who shop online, meet by Zoom, join...
by Matt Cook | Aug 24, 2020 | finances
Fall is here. It may be ninety-five degrees here in Texas, but school is back in session and Labor Day is just a few days away. I know that every church doesn’t follow the same rhythms but in the last two churches I pastored, Labor Day to Christmas was my most...
by Barry Howard | Aug 7, 2020 | staffing
Long before we had ever heard of COVID-19, a paradigm shift was underway in the church. Although the pandemic did not trigger the paradigm shift, it certainly seems to be expediting the process. This paradigm shift will impact almost every facet of ministry, including...
