A Worksheet For Individual Or Group Use 1. What is a healthy church? Why do we have differing opinions on this? Because it’s a theological (ecclesiological) question. Your theology of the church determines your definition of a healthy church. Common views from a couple of decades ago: “A healthy church is a church that’s getting […]
The Church Health Vs. Church Planting Beauty Contest
I hate the word but I’m going to use it anyway. The word is “sexy” and I’m employing it because it’s the best word I can think of to communicate an important concept: Church planting work is sexy; church health work is not sexy. It’s not that those of us who are passionate about church […]
Surviving or Thriving: Options for the Declining Church
Here’s the bad news… 65-90% of American Protestant churches are plateaued or declining in attendance. 1% of America’s Protestant congregations close their doors each year. The average congregation of about 75 in Sunday attendance wins less than one adult unbeliever to Christ per year. Most churches believe that they can keep doing the same […]
Church Health Assessments
The Value of a Fresh Perspective We’ve all had the experience: We’ve walked into a store, a restaurant or a church and were very quickly frustrated. We couldn’t find the Hispanic foods section, or the men’s socks or the rest rooms. Everything seemed to be designed for the people who are already there. You weren’t […]
QUICK GUIDE – Church Revitalization
Our awesome God loves to revitalize churches! Some Christian leaders suggest that most churches are so ineffective after thirty years that they should be replaced. We believe that it is much more glorifying to God when churches are revived, not replaced. Our observation is that Jesus will remove a “lampstand” when He has to, but […]
Can Ordinary Pastors Become Revitalization Pastors?
The short answer is a happy “Yes!” I should define my terms. “Traditional” pastors preach sermons, teach classes, pray, give pastoral care and do administrative tasks. Those are all important. The revitalization pastor does all of those things and is also able to provide the visionary and strategic leadership which can take a willing (key […]
The Everlasting Gossip Stopper Can Change Your Church’s Culture
Every human organization has a problem with gossip. It follows the association of people with people as night follows day. I’m not talking about the innocuous version of gossip which is simply talking about people. “In Bible times, women met at the village well to exchange the latest gossip.” I’m talking about the harmful kind […]
The Sign On The Roof
The church classroom in which the afternoon workshop session was being held was filled to capacity and beyond: the front row seats were unexpectedly taken and the back wall was lined with conference attendees who were willing to stand for fifty minutes to get in on this session. Many in the room had […]
Gaining Restoration Authority
Where do strategic (or “restoration” or “redevelopment”) interim pastors get the authority to change so much so fast in the churches they lead? A church-health expert once told me that “all an interim pastor can do is to give a church a good slap in the face.” As one who has been doing interim pastoring […]
Prepping Your Church For The Next Pandemic
Something strange is happening in our basements. The world has become so weird and scary that a lot of people who hate buying groceries – and formerly laughed at the crazy doomsday peppers – are beginning to squirrel away food in their basements. It goes without saying that the COVID pandemic and all that it […]
Prepping Your Church For The Next Pandemic, Part Two
Our disasters are not without their value if they help us to get ready for the next “go round.” I didn’t have flight insurance. They canceled my flight because they didn’t have enough passengers. I lost my money and had to drive to a more distant airport. Next time, I’ll be ready. Last week I […]
Your Church Can Be Irresistible
“What the world needs now, is love, sweet love. That’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.” What the World Needs Now Is Love, Hal David and Burt Bacharach, 1965 America is stressed to the max. You don’t need me to flesh this out for you; you’re seeing it and experiencing it every […]
Your Church Can Be Irresistible, Part Two
“I have yet to meet the church member who didn’t think that their church was the friendliest congregation in town.” Howard Hendricks “People today are not looking for friendly churches, they’re looking for FRIENDS in churches.” Anonymous Last week I wrote about how church members can make their congregations irresistible by offering their fellow attendees the […]
Even Larger Churches Can Offer The Welcome Of God
(Your Church Can Be Irresistible, Part Three) “People today are not looking for friendly churches, they’re looking for FRIENDS in churches.” Anonymous I’ve been writing about how church members can make their congregations irresistible – very attractive – by offering the welcome of God. Click here for Your Church Can Be Irresistible and Your Church Can […]
The Case For “Face To Face”
“…media means middle; it’s from the Latin for middle. When you put a device in the middle, between people, you distance us from one another, and this is actually the power of media. The more I can control the mediating channel, the less you really know about me.” Andy Crouch, Partner for Theology and Culture […]
Negativity Bias And YOUR Organization
“I plan to live an unhealthy lifestyle and pass away in my cubicle, preferably on a Monday.” Dilbert “There was a wicked messenger, from Eli he did come, With a mind that multiplied the smallest matter. When questioned who had sent for him, he answered with his thumb, For his tongue it could not speak […]
Countering Negativity Bias In Your Organization
In “Negativity Bias And YOUR Organization” I wrote about the unfortunate effects of the human bent toward negativity in human organizations. It was a pretty negative post (of course!) but I promised I would share some hints for countering this pernicious problem. Here’s how I defined negativity bias: Human beings are “bent” toward negativity. Negative […]
How To Keep A Good Pastor, Part One
Last week I wrote about seven reasons why pastors are leaving their ministries: The pastoral “call” isn’t what it used to be. The home church isn’t what it used to be. Pastors are rethinking the pastor paradigm [the full-time superhero trying to excel at every task that God assigned to elders]. A hard-to-live-with performance value […]
How To Keep A Good Pastor, Part Two
Recently, I wrote about why good pastors are leaving their ministries (Seven Reasons Why Pastors Are Dropping Out): The pastoral “call” isn’t what it used to be. The home church isn’t what it used to be. Pastors are rethinking the current pastor paradigm [the full-time superhero trying to excel at every task that God assigned […]
How To Keep A Good Pastor, Part Three
I keep hearing these disturbing stories: good pastors who have been greatly used in their churches to bring about significant, God-honoring change, burning out and ending up in other occupations. I’ve seen more of this disturbing trend since writing Seven Reasons Why Pastors Are Dropping Out, just a few weeks ago. Why is this happening? […]
The Small Church, Post-Pandemic, Survival Guide
Everybody knows that churches were hit hard by the COVID pandemic shutdowns: Theologically liberal churches lost large percentages of their attendees who don’t seem to be returning. Many of these congregations are closing their doors. May these buildings be re-occupied by gospel proclaiming “re-start” churches soon, for the glory of God! Larger evangelical churches lost […]
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