A Wall Street Journal/NORC poll conducted this month confirms and amplifies the air of uncertainty and anxiety pervading so many conversations – in and out of church – these days. When asked about their level of confidence that life for their children’s generation will be better...
A conversation last week with a group of pastors sounded a familiar theme. Although these pastors belong to different denominations, their refrain was the same when it comes to annual reports. “Why aren’t we ever asked to report on something that actually matters to a community...
One hundred years ago this week, the poem that Robert Frost called “my best bid for remembrance” was published in The New Republic. Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is one of the best known and loved poems in American literature. Here it is...
“OK, I get it. Out with our three-minute devotion,” wrote one colleague last week in response to our previous two posts. “But what now? If I go to our board with a poem or a longer Bible study, that’s a sudden change. I don’t think...
Last week, we shared responses from colleagues around the country to the question: What makes it hardest to go deeper (spiritually) with your church board? Now, we turn to responses to the second question we asked: What are you doing, right now, to become a better...
Responses to our last two posts about the turnaround at Barnes & Noble and its parallels to church life led us into some extended conversations with colleagues who, perhaps like you, face the challenge of crafting an effective board agenda each month. We followed up with...
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...