21st Century Strategies church consultant Bill Easum says it’s the most common challenge he runs into when consulting stalled churches: 2-3 entrenched bullies are at work, who shoot down new ideas and impede growth. Bill, a legendary mentor who has consulted for more than 700 congregations, says leaders need to remember that the message is [...]

Founded as ‘the Voice of Evangelicalism,’ Christianity Today is recasting itself as a media ministry, ‘for the church’ says senior managing editor Mark Galli. This comes at a time when denominations are more willing to cooperate – and the Church is in serious need of that. I first heard about Mark from his thoughtful blog [...]

Preaching, as our weekly opportunity to dazzle them with brilliance or even channel the Almighty, is on the way out says Luther Seminary’s preaching instructor David Lose. More and more, he’s come to believe the preacher’s job is about practically equipping folk to experience God in their everyday lives. David is a driving force behind [...]

No longer should the church shape the mission – but the mission must shape the church. So says author, instructor, and missional guru Alan Hirsch, who’s on a mission to invite all churches to embrace mission. Alan is well known in evangelical and mega-church circles and has something to teach everyone: that (as Barth said) [...]

A big reason Steve Stroope’s Lake Pointe Church near Dallas, Texas has gone from 12 families to 11,000 members (in 33 years) is because this congregation pays a lot of attention to families. Steve, who’s been at the helm of this conservative, evangelical church all 33 years says now, more than ever, families need vibrant [...]

While many denominations are busy closing churches, Gary Rohrmayer’s Converge Midamerica is working hard to plant them. Sure, cultural apathy, the advent of secularism, and the Great Recession have slowed things down – but the passion is still there – and is essential as ever to building strong congregations. Rooted in the pietistic heritage of [...]

In a world consumed with consumption, interviewer and commentator Ken Myers says today’s Christian leaders do well to put on the brakes, and take the road less traveled. Ken, founder and host of the Mars Hill Audio Journal, has used his award-winning enterprise to help alert Christians not simply to what’s going on in front [...]

It’s our age’s big missional question – and one Mark Lau Branson of  Fuller Seminary says is at the heart of preparing Christian leaders to effectively shape faith communities. Mark’s work, in the field of practical theology, helps ready Christians for the work on the ground that the Spirit is cultivating. In this interview, Mark [...]

Vibrant churches are places of spiritual depth that take discipleship, prayer, and service very seriously. This has led many congregations to form groups of devout people who undertake certain practices and even pledges to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ. Many of them are moving out into the ‘abandoned places of the empire’ to live [...]

While famed Jesus Seminar co-founder John Dominic Crossan is well known for his weighty analysis of the historical Jesus, he warns the Church not to spend so much time on the Messenger that we miss the Message. Crossan, a former Catholic priest and prolific writer, (out with a brand new book called The Power of [...]

The image of God, from which you and I are made, has much to do with imagination – so says photographer, blogger, Proost director, and Christian Missionary Society leader Jonny Baker, whose worship resources and creative insights have made him one of the go-to guys in today’s missional church movement. Jonny trains Christian pioneer workers [...]

After preaching a sermon series on science and religion, Pastor Ken Wilson says, over time, 7% of his Ann Arbor Vineyard congregation up and left – his attempt to speak to the people who weren’t in his pews was taking its toll. Ken, who’s a pastor and author, says embracing mission won’t necessarily make you [...]

Let’s face it, for many churches today’s generation gap looks more like a chasm.  So how do older churches go about welcoming young adults? After much research, and the popular book Tribal Church – Carol Howard Merritt has a few ideas. I first heard about Carol after reading her popular blog, and was inspired by [...]

In the next 24 months in the U.S., Chris Sharpe says more information will be viewed on mobile devices than on desktop and laptop computers – is your congregation ready? Chris, whose company makes The Church App and has helped thousands of congregations get mobile apps for their churches, says today’s apps are easier to [...]