by Tracy Hartman | Nov 20, 2018 | change
I am a member at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Richmond, VA. In 2008, we began to welcome refugees from Burma into our congregation, many of whom spoke little or no English. Today, we serve together, side-by-side, learning from and teaching each other. On any given...
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 | Aug 28, 2018 | change, Uncategorized
As part of our work with congregations who are engaging in the process of imagining their future, we invite them to first look back and connect with their past. One effective tool for doing that is to create a timeline that includes significant events from the life of...
by Bill Wilson | Jun 26, 2018 | change
I recently listened to a friend as he described the challenge his church had faced as they navigated a difficult congregational decision. It was no surprise to hear him talk about people taking sides, expressing opinions, twisting facts, assigning motives to the...
by Bill Owen | Apr 4, 2018 | change, Transitions
Over more than forty years as a pastor and now as an interim pastor and as a congregational and leadership coach, I have had a wide array of experiences in the local church. An emerging concern for me, and for many of my fellow pastors and congregations, has been the...
by Bill Owen | Jan 9, 2018 | change
Amy Butler, pastor of the Riverside Church in NYC, recently reminded congregational leaders: “Make it our priority to perpetually reframe the narrative from scarcity to abundance…. When congregations speak in narratives of decline and death, desperation and...
