Of course, settling and opening are not mutually exclusive actions. But then, why do so many of our church board meetings proceed as if they are?...
There have been countless times I have been so tempted to have t-shirts printed with that emblazoned on the front in bold, neon letters and distribute them among every church committee or board with whom I have worked. It’s not about more information....
What does the church have that culture doesn’t have? More importantly, what does the church have that culture shows absolutely no interest in having?...
That is the understandable question that church board members ask when their meetings begin to tilt toward Bible study, discussion of articles about the nature of God’s church, and prayer. Of course, church being church, rare is the occasion that any board member will speak...
“We learn to praise God not by paying compliments, but by paying attention,” Frederick Buechner once wrote. It’s an excellent guideline for church board meetings....
If we feed people spiritually, all the true institutional needs of a congregation will be taken care of. I think the corollary is also true: congregations can organize, plan, arrange, recruit, announce and invite folks to all types of things, but if the deep spiritual needs...
The hurricane that is bearing down on the east coast as I write this, the earthquakes that have shaken Japan, the spilled cargo of an 18-wheeler that snarls traffic for hours on your way to work—these are bad, potentially dangerous disruptions....
“Most messes can get cleaned up where trust is present.” The closing of last week’s piece gave us that ultimate sticking point. Trust is one of the chief casualties of the erosion we are experiencing in our common life. This week, David Lose noted the sermon...
Back in the olden days of paper maps, it could be disconcerting to get lost. Having a map didn't help unless you knew your location on that map. GPS presents a different problem. The “my location” button can tell you where you are. But then GPS...