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 [...]

Surprising advice – especially since it’s coming from a church marketer. Richard Reising, from Artistry Labs, says churches should only begin promoting themselves when they’ve got something worth promoting. What’s more, once congregations can do this, there’s a strong possibility they won’t even need to tell anyone. In this interview Richard shares his experience working [...]

Theologian and author Bob Whitesel says ‘the missing middle’ of healthy congregational growth is transformation – which he sees as key for today’s church to accomplish God’s mission. Bob, founding professor of Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University and the author of several books on congregational growth, anchors his conviction on his idea of ‘missional’ [...]

Stan Ott, seasoned consultant with the Vital Practices Institute, says helping leaders get past the tyranny of the immediate is the most common challenge he sees in today’s churches. Ott and his team pull together groups of churches and walk with their leaders for three year stretches. During that time he says most leaders can [...]

Every month 1,500 pastors leave their positions. Burnout for church leaders is well-documented and the reasons are legion.  That’s why Lance Witt started Replenish Ministries – which is aimed at helping church leaders stay healthy. In this interview, we will look at the common pitfalls for leaders – as well as the healthy habits that [...]

A vision isn’t something that’s memorized, it’s something that’s memorable – so says experienced church leadership coach and consultant George Bullard. George has consulted for 35 years in 50 denominations and one of the most frequent problems he comes across are congregations that are simply not taken with their vision. George says a key is [...]

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 [...]

It all boils down to who we are and what we’re doing here. So says well-known consultant and author Gil Rendle who sees many congregations suffer because they put relationships over purpose. As we all know, the main reason for the church’s existence is God’s mission – a conviction many congregations need to recover. In [...]

The North American Church is broken and you can’t fix it. These are tough words from seasoned author and consultant Alan Roxburg of The Missional Network. He says it’s high time Christians realize that God is the one disrupting the settled assumptions of Christendom and pushing us to new, unpredictable places. The good news is [...]

Oh yes, a new day is dawning for North American Christianity. Fewer denominational churches. Fewer buildings. Fewer full-time clergy. But an incredible new energy is stirring as new communities emerge to live out the old story. In this interview the brilliant Phyllis Tickle, religion expert and author of many books including The Great Emergence, sketches [...]

How can you take advantage of that packed Christmas season house? Church marketing and branding guru Maurilio Amorim says many churches fail to do 3 easy things that can keep holiday visitors coming back. I interviewed the visionary founder of Nashville’s, ‘The A Group’ to talk about the appropriateness of church branding and marketing, and [...]

One of the most common problems ailing churches face is a debilitating mindset to preserve the Institution vs. genuinely caring for people. Author, consultant, and Leadership Network speaker Reggie McNeal is an icon in the congregational development world. He’s written extensively, in The Present Future,  Missional Renaissance and Missional Communities, about the Church’s need to [...]

It’s clarity, says Will Mancini, founder of Auxano consulting group. Will is a ‘Clarity Evangelist’ whose litany is: ‘Clarity isn’t everything but it changes everything.’ I first heard about Will through his popular Church Unique congregational renewal project that helps churches clarify their purpose and mission. Will is a gifted speaker with a charismatic personality. In [...]

Author, minister, and Gallup Organization consultant Al Winseman points to the hard data that says people who are engaged (involved, committed, and enthusiastic) with their faith communities are more apt to support the mission of Christ in the local church. While the sad truth is that most church members are not engaged Al has written [...]

Few things can handicap a church like a directionless, overstaffed, and disengaged church board. Alban Institute senior consultant Dan Hotchkiss, who’s consulted with 27 different denominations (and counting…) says ineffective church boards are too common, but the good news is that many of them can be fixed. I first heard about Dan’s work when someone [...]

When Kevin Martin’s St. Matthew’s Cathedral saw European-Americans leaving the neighborhood and a cadre of vibrant Latinos moving in, it became clear that the church had to change.  Over the last decade that’s meant welcoming a new Latino population that’s produced a wonderful success story – and brought attendance back to the church’s heyday. I [...]

“Where do you sense God’s presence in the church?” “Where do you sense God calling us to go in the future?” These are the two vital questions renowned author and consultant Anthony B. Robinson asks church members to ask themselves as he helps them turn things around.  They key is listening far and wide for [...]

Veteran congregational development expert Alice Mann says the chances of turning around a congregation are not great, she cites one study that sets the odds at 25%, but that doesn’t mean a) a congregation can’t do it, and b) ending well = failure. I first heard about Alice when I read one of her excellent [...]

The first step in turning around a declining church is figuring out the first step.  Hundreds of congregations have turned to Presbyterian minister Chris Walker, also known as The Evangelism Coach, to help them both diagnose and address their challenges. Chris has a huge presence on the Internet because his stuff is so practical.  He’s [...]

Nearly every church sees it: 20% of the people doing 80% of the work. How do we get more people involved?  Scott Thumma says he knows how, so I invited him to share his story with the rest of us. Scott, and co-author Warren Bird recently wrote a book addressing this dilemma that caught my [...]

Adapting to an increasingly diverse world is one of the biggest challenges facing today’s congregations.  Eric H.F. Law has written extensively on how churches can open themselves to the new and different because, he says, it’s imperative that we do so. I first encountered Eric in Los Angeles where hisKaleidoscope Institute offers a variety of [...]

Twenty years ago donations to religion made up 60% of all charitable giving.  Today it’s about half that.  Dr. J. Clif Christopher says the church is being left in the dust by other non-profits – and we’re in need of a big turn-around.  But during our interview he not only outlined the causes (and our [...]

If you’re like me you spend a whole lot of time designing worship, coordinating ministries, and minding pastoral care.  That doesn’t leave much time left for doing what Dallas Theological Seminary professor, noted author, and congregational development consultant Aubrey Malphurs says is arguably the greatest need for today’s churches: developing leaders. I first heard of [...]

How far in advance do you plan your Sunday services?  Doug Lawrence has been working with churches for 30 years and says a failure to take our worship more seriously, like planning well in advance, is one of the big reasons churches flounder. Doug is a consultant, author and blogger who’s got an extensive resume [...]

Tom Ehrich says the days of pastors as chaplains are long gone – and he wants to see you and me more engaged and active in leading our congregations. Ehrich, an author, church consultant and pastor, pulls no punches as he explains why invisibility, self-absorbtion, and self-projection have caused churches to decline.  But he doesn’t [...]