Bob Johnston does not shy away from change. He accepted a calling to the Episcopal Priesthood that had been persistent, and left a position with the largest patent law firm in Dallas, uprooted his wife from a medical practice and, ultimately moved his family to London where he would do his final training before ordination.

I’m not telling your church that it should change its name. If anything, I’m telling you not to. But if you should consider changing the name of your church, you should do so slowly, carefully and with much thought and prayer.

I enjoy going to Starbucks because I know I will be greeted by a barista who is going to make me coffee exactly the way I like it. I like to shop at Wal-Mart because I know I am going to be welcomed by a smiling face and made to feel like I made the right choice in shopping there.

The simple act of extending the right hand of fellowship to visitors to our churches is fraught with difficulty and ineptitude, and many first-time visitors won’t come back as they experience a cold or indifferent church.

The church potluck supper, still a staple in most congregations, is cooking up something bigger in larger churches today. Food service is becoming a department in its own right in not only bringing people together in fellowship, but as a support ministry and outreach tool with other ministries of the congregation.