It’s not that pastors are stupid, says Geoff Surratt, on staff at Seacoast Church, Charleston, S.C., and author of Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches From Growing, (Zondervan, 2009) “The challenge is seldom intelligence; the problem is often perspective. Many times we are so close to the action that we can’t see our own mistakes and we end up making decisions that undermine the very outcome we desire.”
Read More >Larry Crabb says there is a Real Church experience and he has described it in Real Church: Does it Exist? Can I Find It? (Thomas Nelson, 2009). In summary, he says “A Real Church experience tells the captivating love story of God (spiritual theology); it envisions what people could actually become (spiritual formation); it highlights what relationships were meant to be and how “trinity-like” relationships could develop (spiritual community); and it calls to the God-implanted compassion in every regenerate heart to do good in this world, seizing whatever opportunities present themselves (spiritual mission). People regularly exposed to these ‘four spirituals’ will live broken, hopeful, hungry, grateful, eager, content, authentic, relational lives.” Dr.Crabb is a well-known psychologist, conference speaker, Bible teacher, popular author, and founder/director of NewWay Ministries in the Denver, CO area.
Read More >Churches deserve extraordinary leadership, and it isn’t about being a mega church or a celebrity church, says Nancy Ortberg, a partner in Teamworx2 [teamworx2.com] and author of Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands: Lessons in Non-Linear Leadership (Tyndale, 2008).
Read More >Today’s generation — however you define them — isn’t giving to the church like their parents. J. Clif Christopher says the statistics show a very alarming trend. “The children of the baby boomers are far less generous than their parents and show significantly less interest in giving to religion.”
Read More >By Ronald E. Keener It’s hard to argue with success. With 20 weekly services on five campuses, North Coast Church in Vista, CA is known for its innovation and its small “back door,” home to 7,000 in weekend attendance after using sermon-based small groups for 25 years. Senior Pastor Larry Osborne describes the approach in […]
Read More >In the early 1950s, attendance in Protestant churches in the U.S. mirrored the postwar population: 52 percent female, 48 percent male. Today the typical U.S. worship service draws an adult crowd that’s 61 percent female. Many mainline congregations are two-thirds women. No other religion suffers such a huge gender disparity.
Read More >Will Mancini in his new book, Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement (JosseyBass/Leadership Network, 2008) says visioning sometimes can be scary.
Read More >Gil Rendle and Susan Beaumont in When Moses Meets Aaron: Staffing and Supervision in Large Congregations (Alban Institute, 2007) have written about employment relationships, performance management, and supervisory relationships.
Read More >There are few books available for the church administrator’s craft and so Church Administration: Programs, Process, Purpose (Fortress Press, 2007) by Robert N. Bacher and Michael L. Cooper-White is a welcome and needed resource.
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