Author, speaker, and former fundamentalist pastor Steve McSwain says the best way to see healthy growth in today’s churches is for a greater sense of openness to prevail. Steve, whose Huffington Post bio calls him the ‘voice of SBNR (spiritual but not religious)’ brings a sobering relevancy to the work churches are embarking upon today. [...]

Our pastors take care of us, that’s their job – but should my job also be to take care of them? Retired Presbyterian pastor, author, and consultant Stephen McCutchan says, ‘Absolutely!’ He is deeply involved in the Pastoral Care Network whose litany is: Healthy Clergy, Healthy Church, and he’s devoted his life to coming alongside [...]

While there are more women in the pews, there are still lots more men in the pulpit. And this can lead to ill-informed preaching and community formation that can be offensive to women and even drive them from the faith. Feminist Erin Lane knows this well, she’s the editor of an upcoming book on women, [...]

Author, journalist, and pastor Jason Byassee says it was the natural move at his rather large, well-established Boone United Methodist Church in North Carolina: that his first hire would be someone charged to coordinate care of those who were not already members. Jason, an author who writes for the Christian Century and is a popular [...]

Ministry in real-life Mayberry has its blessings and challenges..Steve Lindsley, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Mt. Airy, NC, says it’s great to be involved in such a loving community, however the financial struggles take a toll. In this interview, Steve tells us how the laying off of the church music director has actually invigorated [...]

It’s been said we’re all part of a grand conversation that began before we got here and will carry on well past our departure.  If that’s true, says blogger, author, and contemplative activist Christine Sine, we do well to listen before we do much talking. Christine, co-founder with husband Tom of Mustard Seed Associates, has [...]

It’s called the Parish Collective – and the idea is to link churches to their geographic boundaries – lifting up the community in the name of Christ. However, these aren’t Roman Catholic, Lutheran, or Episcopal congregations, per se, they’re the collective of Christians in one area who are committed to improving that area. Co-founder Tim [...]

Moving from a 400 member church to White Memorial Presbyterian Church, which is several times larger, has been an exciting adjustment for Pastor Christopher Edmonston. He’s found out what many church leaders discover when their ministries grow: the skills needed to run larger churches are markedly different from those of smaller congregations – yet the [...]

Valley and Mountain is not your typical church – in fact now, in its infancy, it is best described as a movement – which may be where the next generation of vibrant congregations is going. John, a gifted United Methodist Church minister, is a few years into this Seattle, WA plant, which meets in different [...]

Mark Scandrette believes churches need to function less like classrooms and more like karate studios. This innovative pastor and author of Practicing the Way of Jesus, says congregations need to find ways to connect much more deeply with people, allowing room for practice, failure, and transformative interaction. In this interview, Mark describes the ‘learning labs’ [...]

Please excuse the riff of the infamous James Carville line (‘It’s the economy, stupid’) – but for Anglican Benedictine Chris Webb, in a world where churches are tempted to major in so many things – from social justice to education – they must never forget that spirituality is their first call. Chris, who recently wrote, [...]

Church with the Whiskey Preacher Phil Shepherd isn’t just great, it’s a Eucatastrophe! That’s the Tolkeinesque name of this pushin’-the-envelope preacher, blogger, and self-proclaimed outlaw theologian’s faith community. Underneath the tatts, pearl snaps, and gauged ears, is the heart of a pastor whose desire to reach those on the fringes of his Texas community is [...]

Church planting in Silicon Valley… it’s about encountering an incredibly gifted and brilliant community… that can be disinterested or even antagonistic toward the Gospel. But that’s not stopping Nicole Lamarche from her work planting Silicon Valley United Church of Christ. She’s moving forward on the Spirit’s prodding that there’s plenty of room for a progressive [...]

The unkeepable promise of certainty is what the world offers – and the Church shows its own fears when it tries to compete. That’s why author and theologian Peter Rollins urges congregations to embrace the truth of life’s deep mystery and unknowing – as a way to open us up to God’s presence and purpose. [...]

The pendulum’s swung, says author, speaker, and activist JR Woodward. Bigger is no longer better in the church world – and Woodward is predicting that the real energy for God’s work in the local church will come from smaller, intentional communities who are immersed in spiritual practices that energize and inspire. While many people are [...]

Here’s a preacher who’s been at it for 14 years and is still under 30. Kadri Webb says he’s preaching, blogging, and restless with the Word of God in his soul – that just has to get out. His convictions on social action are challenging and refreshing. In this interview Kadri calls the Church to [...]

A wide open, Wiki-community, more dependent on the wisdom of many will dominate the church of tomorrow says author and speaker Diana Butler Bass. This is just one trend Diana, a historian by background, has been tracking. She says the next generation is much more apt NOT to believe in God – so it’s important [...]

What does today’s religious seeker look like? Kenneth Glenn Morgan is one example. A one-time Roman Catholic seminarian, he dropped out to explore other options. After more than ten years of absence, Kenneth is now putting many much more energy into and value on his religious quest. He’s the author of The Morgan Narratives, as [...]

At too many churches, trying to get that one Sunday Morning takeaway is like trying to get a drink from a fire hose.  We’re bombarded with so many dissonant messages Dave Ferguson had to develop a way for his flock to focus on one central idea. Ferguson, pastor and founder of the Community Christian mega [...]

Creating safe space for the ‘religiously-disconnected-but-still-interested’ young adult is a passion for David Zahl, whose media initiative, Mockingbird, is finding a steadily growing audience. Mockingbird (found at mbird.com) seeks to connect Christianity with everyday life. It’s a publishing venture that majors in blog posts, short books, and live conferences. In this interview David tells us [...]

When Derek Penwell began serving the struggling Douglass Boulevard Christian Church in 2008, the church board decided to reach out to its local neighborhood – an LGBT neighborhood. Little did Derek know this would bring him to places of leadership in the community and in his Disciples of Christ denomination to champion LGBT rights. In [...]

Common wisdom says focus on what we need to do to get on with God’s work. But Phil Snider says vibrant churches become obsessed with what God wants – and this makes all the difference. Phil is an amazingly gifted author, teacher, and pastor serving the people of Brentwood Christian Church in Springfield, Missouri. In [...]

For Christian Piatt and his Milagro Church bridging polarizing differences, which seem intractable in today’s contemporary society, is a job more churches should be putting on the front burner. Christian, an author blogger and pastor, co-founded the congregation with his wife (before recently moving), and thinks that the witness of just getting along with one [...]

Co-pastor Kathy Escobar says interactive worship and intergenerational participation is where tomorrow’s church is headed. Her congregation, The Refuge, is an emergent gathering in Denver that’s home to a menagerie of what she calls, “spiritual orphans” that’s experimenting with new ways to live together. Kathy’s convinced that today’s Christians no longer want to go to church, [...]

Butts and Bucks are no longer the metrics many growing congregations are using. In fact, for Mark O. Wilson, pastor of Hayward Wesleyan Church in northern Wisconsin, his measure of success is how well his community serves the greater community.  Mark, a pastor, author, and blogger, began ministry with 60 people in the church.  21 years [...]