What are your church’s biggest problems? You know – the ones that have people talking in meetings, in the hall, in the parking lot… Chances are that if you’re a leader in your congregation, you could make a list of problems in a quick minute. ...
I am a life-long Presbyterian who loves the church. I went to a Presbyterian seminary, where I was formed by Presbyterian theology. It has been Presbyterian pastors and lay people who have shaped me, and it is a Presbyterian pension and medical plan that secures...
“Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them…” Philippians 4:5a – The Message I’ve been in Alabama for twenty years now and perhaps one of the most annoying things I witness is...
Sometimes we find ourselves trying to win at church. We don’t like to admit it, but since we’re among friends, we can be honest in this space. We track all kinds of data attempting to paint a picture of positive progress and success in ministry....
In a recent post, Seth Godin retells what he terms a “magical story.” A Gurkha rifleman escaped from a Japanese prison in south Burma and walked six hundred miles alone through the jungles to freedom. The journey took him five months, but he never asked the...
What do people in your community care about? What are their values? What are their aspirations? What are their hopes? What are their goals? What are their needs? What are their interests? What are their challenges? Where do they experience joy? Where do they experience belonging? Where do they find deep community? How do they experience...
Because, contrary to all evidence, we treat disruption as the exception rather than the rule. While life experience overwhelmingly indicates that attaining perfect stasis and equilibrium is a myth, we continue – often unconsciously – to relentlessly pursue such conditions. On the other hand, we know...
Today, the demolition of our congregation’s kitchen begins. It’s going to be a major disruption—let’s be honest, it already has been. The conversation about the kitchen was alive well before I arrived five years ago to Christ on Capitol Hill (Saint Paul, Minnesota), my fourth...
It looked like a weed - the tiny sprig of green that sprouted in the crack of my front walkway. I passed it for days as I rushed out the front door headed for work. With each passing, the growing leaves reminded me to add...