It’s time to get out of the (church) box, says the gifted and creative rector at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Mohegan Lake, NY. The Rev. Claire Woodley says the Matthew 28 command to ‘Go!’ has sent her to regular visits to local businesses where the offers to pray with employees, open up a coffee shop [...]

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 [...]

The popular vision of monastics may include ancient religious observation in drafty, stone chapels – is this hardly a place of innovation? Jamie Coats works for the Society of St. John the Evangelist near Boston. He helps this community of 20 monks, who are devoted to preaching and teaching, get the word out in some [...]

You were made in the image of God – is it time for some restoration? That’s the tag line for Episcopal priest Christopher Martin’s latest project: The Restoration Project – which aims, through sequential classes, small group discipleship, and personal rules of life – to deepen the spirituality of local congregations. In this interview Christopher [...]

Fr. Jim Hamilton really thought the new Sunday night service he was hired to create would flop – but then God has a sense of humor. Out of Christ Church, Cranbrook‘s desire for a contemplative service for 20-somethings came Lex Orandi which, two years later, is a vibrant community that has far surpassed expectations. In [...]

Seems like a no-brainer: have the entire congregation read the Bible in one year. This was the epiphany Fr. Marek Zabriskie, of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Whitemarsh, PA had – so he mustered his congregation, had them do it, and now The Bible Challenge is an international movement. Marek says transformation is at the heart [...]

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 [...]

Ever get envious of 12-step groups for the ways they bring about life-transformation and real conversation – and think, ‘If only this happened on Sunday mornings!?’ Spiritual director and experienced pastor Scott Stoner has figured out how. It’s a dynamic new program called Living Compass. It has helped dozens of faith communities organize meaningful small [...]

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 [...]

Don’t be afraid to fail gloriously, says Episcopal Bishop Andy Doyle, of the Diocese of Texas. He’s all about planting new churches in unexpected places, and reinvigorating older congregations through diocesan-wide activities that encourage faith sharing. In this interview, Bishop Doyle talks about the skills today’s Christian leaders need to build healthy congregations, as well [...]

It may be America’s best known church – and the man at the top says his leadership style begins at the bottom. Frank Wade, Interim Dean at the Washington National Cathedral, brings a wealth of experience and intelligence to his work – and in this interview passes along some of the leadership lessons he’s picked [...]

Why reinvent the wheel? With so many churches doing exciting and inspiring work, Nancy Davidge’s role with the Episcopal Church Foundation’s Vital Practices initiative, has her on the prowl for new and innovative success stories in local congregations. Nancy says the big theme is reaching out – and in this interview tells us about how [...]

In a post-denomination, post-Christian world churches may no longer be able to survive if arrogance and protectionism play very large roles in their communities. That’s why John Shelby Spong, who’s tenure as a liberal Episcopal bishop of Newark and subsequent career as an author and lecturer, is calling believers to act with humility and acceptance [...]

Building healthy churches begins with building healthy church members. That’s the thinking behind Forward Movement, a 1930′s initiative of The Episcopal Church, which is best known for its ‘Day by Day’ daily devotional pamphlet, but also includes tract, and book publishing. Scott Gunn is the gifted, energetic, and new face behind Forward. He’s a popular [...]

The North American Church is too easily enculturated, says author Rodney Clapp – and is at its best when it’s set apart as a peculiar people (1 Peter 2:9). Rodney, whose written several books and has a column in The Christian Century, says we need to get back to formation as a central organizing principle [...]

A younger student body, expanding lay-educational opportunities, a new chapel in the works – yes, there’s freshness and newness at Virginia Theological Seminary – which is what Dean Ian S. Markham suggests traditional churches consider. Dean Markham says much of the energy he’s seeing in the Church is coming from traditional congregations that are investing [...]

Lonely Los Angeles has new a place for deeper connections. Episcopal priest Jimmy Bartz, and the ‘experimental community’ called Thad’s has found new growth by intentionally focusing on connecting people to the Story and to each other. Thad’s calls itself a community of Monday through Saturday believers who strive to live out God’s story of [...]

More spiritual conversations happen outside the church than inside, so why aren’t we there? Fr. Albert Cutie is a parish priest (Episcopal), author, media personality who thinks church leaders need to recover their public voice, get out there, and meet the people where they are. In this interview, Fr. Albert reminds us that spreading the [...]

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 [...]

Why not bring joy and hospitality to the neighborhood with a festive, Christ-centered inter-generational party? That’s the idea behind La Posada – a Latin American holiday that re-enacts the journey of Joseph and Mary to Jerusalem. In this interview hispanic ministries expert Anthony Guillen tells us how churches use this colorful holiday to evangelize and [...]

Too many church leaders get caught up in the ‘administrivia’ of their congregations, says Dr. David Gortner from Virginia Theological Seminary, and it keeps them from getting out and involved in their neighborhoods, which harms both their faith community and the community at large. David, who is the professor of evangelism and congregational leadership at [...]

When do you lead by majority and when do you lead because you feel it’s what the Lord wants?  It’s a balancing act all church leaders face, and Episcopal priest and scholar Gary Hall knows it well. Gary has seen attendance and involvement increase at his large mainline congregation, Christ Church Cranbrook,by rediscovering the church’s [...]

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 [...]

Building a healthy congregation means building a healthy understanding of money. And there are few who have a better grasp on this than Episcopal Bishop Greg Rickel (Diocese of Olympia). For years he has moonlighted as a stewardship consultant and become convinced that at the center of God’s heart is generosity. I first heard Bp. [...]