By Bob Allen A ministerial housing allowance provision that saves U.S. ministers an estimated $1.2 billion annually in tax exemptions is unfair to other taxpayers not entitled to the same benefit, according to a 2011 lawsuit by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. A Wisconsin judge has given a green light to a lawsuit challenging a […]
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Every leadership system has a capacity limit, a point beyond which it can no longer effectively function. When the activity level of the congregation significantly increases or decreases, leadership systems hit their limits. A senior clergyperson assumes a particular leadership role that is highly effective in a church with weekend worship attendance of 700. The clergyperson is surprised to discover that the leadership role begins losing its effectiveness when the church adds an additional worship service and now hosts 850 in weekend worship.
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I have found that managing change is a daunting task for church leaders. Regrettably, in most seminaries managing change is not taught. Yet in my work I have discovered that the process is not so mysterious or unexamined.
Read More >Kent Hunter leads Church Doctor Ministries from Corunna, IN, and has become known as The Church Doctor for his 35 years of consulting with churches and training consultants throughout the U.S.
Read More >Surrender to frustration. Yield to apathy. Succumb to exasperation. The national trends are not good. They contain exclamations of unhealthiness, and it’s easy to become desensitized to the reality that the American church really is struggling. In the average congregation, it takes 85 people an entire year to reach one person for Christ.
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Read More >Day care or child care facilities are a mainstay of many churches and church-supported schools. The benefits of these facilities to parents are innumerable, including the assurance that their children are in a safe, nurturing environment under the care of supportive, qualified adults.
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At a conference hosted by the North American Christian Convention last summer in Kentucky, Rick Rusaw stood on stage before thousands of church leaders and posed this question: “If your church disappeared today, would your community miss it?” Then he echoed a disturbing finding by a national research firm: 66 percent of Americans agree that churches have little or no value in helping them find meaning or direction for their lives.
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This particular Saturday was the fifth wedding anniversary of Wayne Chaney Jr. and his wife Myesha, an occasion when they usually kicked back, enjoyed a leisurely dinner and spent quality time reflecting on their marriage. But the day began at 9:00 with a wedding ceremony, a 10:00 interview with a writer, a 2:00 funeral and burial, a 3:30 wedding in Los Angeles, and a 5:00 comedy showcase at Antioch Church of Long Beach. By the time they drew their breath at 8:00 that evening they had fallen asleep in the back of a limo ride to a restaurant. They opted instead to celebrate a week later in Palm Springs.
Read More >In recent years the issue of corporate financial accountability has become increasingly important, even for churches. As a result, more and more churches are providing annual financial reports to their congregations. Unfortunately, many of these reports are simply based on business financial reporting models and therefore may not convey the church’s finances as clearly as they could.
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