I knew something was up weeks earlier. Making my typical hotel arrangements for the monthly trip to Nashville seemed complicated. Every hotel was sold … [Read more...] about What I learned from Taylor Swift
The Keys to an Effective Search Process
Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Spiritual Intelligence (SQ), and Missional Intelligence (MQ) are the keys to an effective search process. Over the … [Read more...] about The Keys to an Effective Search Process
Seven Things to Unlearn and to Learn
I don’t recall where I first heard the phrase. Perhaps it was Richard Rohr in Breathing Under Water. He wrote: “All mature spirituality, in one sense … [Read more...] about Seven Things to Unlearn and to Learn
What to Do with the Nones?
Ryan Burge is rather convincing. As an academic (Eastern Illinois University) social scientist-American Baptist pastor, he has a foot in two of the … [Read more...] about What to Do with the Nones?
7 Suggestions For Preventing Conflict Before It Happens
As surely as we can expect thunderstorms in the summer, hurricanes in the fall, and blizzards in the winter, the Church is about to experience a … [Read more...] about 7 Suggestions For Preventing Conflict Before It Happens
Missional Focus: Tourist, Traveler or Pilgrim?
In our Lilly-funded Project Thrive, we have outlined seven key traits of thriving churches. It comes as no surprise that one of those is “Missional … [Read more...] about Missional Focus: Tourist, Traveler or Pilgrim?
A New Set of Metrics
I recently found this photo of my mom standing with my sisters and me on an Easter Sunday morning around 1964. Aside from my stunning fashion … [Read more...] about A New Set of Metrics
From Risk Management to Risk Taking
On this one-year anniversary of the start of the Covid Pandemic, it seems appropriate to take stock and assess the American Church. For many of us, … [Read more...] about From Risk Management to Risk Taking
Five Crucial Tools for Healthy Ministry
Regularly, ministers ask for my help with ministerial and congregational life in pragmatic ways. What is the best way to organize, plan, preach, … [Read more...] about Five Crucial Tools for Healthy Ministry