by Barry Howard | Mar 10, 2021 | change, future, innovation, Risk Taking
While engaged in a conversation with some of my closest colleagues about the changes and challenges of pastoral ministry, Bill Wilson, Director of the Center for Healthy Churches, made a comment that summarized some thoughts that had been simmering in my mind. He...
by Matt Cook | Feb 22, 2021 | healthy congregation, hope, Transitions
In the 1950’s a somewhat morbid experiment was conducted by a professor at Johns Hopkins University named Curt Richter. He put wild rats in a container of water and forced them to swim as long as they could before drowning. Most of the rats swam for only a few...
by Paul Grier | Dec 21, 2020 | change, Legacy, Transitions
When we hear the words “legacy” and “congregation” in the same sentence, most of us think of a devoted church member leaving a bequest in her will to her faith community. Yet, in the last eight years, I have worked with hundreds of congregations that have questioned...
by Jim Kitchens | Dec 21, 2020 | hope, Legacy, Transitions
Most of us have read the statistics about how many churches are likely to close over the next 3-5 years. Although the various studies come up with different totals, all of the figures are staggering. To make matters worse, it’s already clear that the hit many of our...
by Joel Snider | Dec 21, 2020 | hope, Legacy, Transitions
First Christian Church of Rome, Georgia (Disciples of Christ), was a great partner in ministry with the church I pastored for twenty-one years. Our congregations shared common commitments to feed the hungry and care for the poor in our community. For more than a...
by Michelle Snyder | Oct 19, 2020 | change, strategic planning
Let’s face it. Most people have believed for some time that things in the church have needed to change. We all know the data…decline, institutional stagnation, and shrinking numbers. More gray hair and fewer kids, not to mention structural albatrosses made of...
