by Jim Kitchens | Mar 16, 2021 | Collaboration, community
When I started out as a young associate pastor, I was deeply aware of how little I knew about ministry. I wasn’t sure how to lead a congregation. I didn’t know what my relationship should be with pastors and lay leaders who had been at the work far longer than...
by Chuck Rush | Mar 10, 2021 | Changes, community, Unity
Every year we have a new group of people on the stewardship committee that are ecstatic when we tell them that 10-12% of the pledge campaign comes from families that have never pledged before. And they are crestfallen when our financial secretary informs them that...
by Jayne Davis | Jan 11, 2021 | Best Practice, community, healthy ministry
There is something very empowering about a new year – a clean slate, a fresh start. But 2021 is not just any new year. It comes on the heels of an ‘old year,’ unlike any in our lifetime. And if the first few days of 2021 are any indication, it is...
by Matt Cook | Jul 13, 2020 | community
I came across an interesting list a few months ago. It was a list of the richest animals in the world. Did you know that the richest animal in the world is a dog named Gunther IV. Gunther is worth about $373 million dollars give or...
by Mike Queen | May 23, 2017 | community
Virtually every church I know, if asked to describe itself, would use words like friendly, caring and welcoming. Not every new person who comes their way would use those same words. While churches are not hostile to newcomers, many of them are unaware of the coolness...
by Bill Owen | May 9, 2017 | community
I stood in a hospital room crowded with family members of one who, without a single word, had summoned us all together. She was ready, after almost 94 years, to leave this life. So that is what she did. She left a hushed silence unable to muffle the emotion of time...
