Our post last week on the turnaround of bookseller Barnes & Noble (big takeaway: they got a leader who loved books!) generated a lot of thoughtful response from those who read the piece. One colleague wrote to us: My friend has worked for them for years and...
What do you love that keeps you in church leadership? In the last chapter of 1 Corinthians, after Paul has thrown every theological argument he can muster at the church at Corinth to encourage them to love one another, and three chapters after his iconic...
“Tell them that I am a good Christian and I’m going to heaven.” Many of us saw parts of the drama play out in the U.S. House of Representatives two weeks ago, as the majority party struggled to elect its speaker. The person presiding over that...
At the end of this year, we want to thank you for reading our weekly pieces and for your many comments, suggestions, and stories about how you have used this material. We started Digging a Deeper Well over three years ago with a singular conviction: ...
December is no sooner over than January is upon us, trailing annual meetings and new officer trainings with it. Even if your church board turnover keeps a different calendar, this is always a good moment to think about how to do that turnover well. How a...
The story goes that a couple trying to find a country inn got hopelessly lost, so they stopped at a local store to ask for directions. “Sure,” the clerk offered. “Just go down this road for a couple more miles. You’re going to turn right...
What is the thread that binds together your faith community, especially in a time when our whole social fabric seems so ready to unravel? For sure, it is not Robert’s Rules of Order, or a contentious vote on the issues of the day where you can...
So many of our posts urge church boards to risk more, to be bold, to try new things. We continue to be convinced that this is a moment for congregations and their leadership to appreciate the ways God’s Spirit is moving us in new directions...
One of the terms that has found new life and meaning during the pandemic is the well-worn word pivot. Everyone, it seems, has been pivoting all over the place. Indeed, we wouldn’t be surprised if your church board has discussed and enacted several pivots of...