Other people are as important as you are. You likely know that. On the surface, we all know that. But how has this truth substantially changed how you lead? Are other people “important” in the same way background scenery in a play kind of matters to the foreground characters? What
Several years ago I was in Canada, leading a mix of adult and teenage ministry leaders from a very buttoned-down denomination through a half-day training experience I call “Jesus-Centered Ministry.” In the experience, small teams wrestle with a series of Scripture passages that are intended to introduce them to
In Vibrant Faith’s ongoing Fourth-Soil Parenting Project, we coach church ministry leaders to: Honor (uphold) parents as the primary faith-forming agents in the lives of their children. Experiment with new ways to support and encourage parents to live out and talk about their faith in Jesus in daily life.
I’m telling this story backwards. Stay with me… I’m moving. Again. People who know me are laughing. When we bought our condo three years ago I declared: “This is it, we’re home. I’m never moving again.” Now this will be the sixth time my husband and I have moved
With church partners in our Fourth-Soil Parenting Project, we’re experimenting with new ways to plant and nurture a story-sharing environment in congregations. Why? Because discipleship and faith formation are profoundly hindered when people have not yet explored, acknowledged, and witnessed to their own story. As more people in your
As ministry leaders, it’s wise to consider the young people of Gen Z the church’s “canaries in the coal mine.” Young people are driving the steep decline in church participation in our culture. But rather than treating their exodus as a problem to solve, what if we paid attention
A few weeks ago I was in a staff-meeting discussion about our Lenten ministry plans. After a pregnant pause, we looked at each other and someone said, “Last year went well, let’s just do the same thing.” We let out a collective sigh of relief and Lent, once again, became
The mission of the church is to invite the broken and needy into a healing community, where they can find or deepen their relationship with Jesus and experience restoration in all aspects of their life. And so, as the pandemic set in, I helped launch a new online class
In my upcoming book Editing Jesus I tackle the forming influence of social media in our culture, and how the dynamics of the medium have (for many) created a performative momentum in us. Of course, this momentum has infected the people in our congregations in profound ways and even
A few weeks ago I was in a staff-meeting discussion about our Lenten ministry plans. After a pregnant pause, we looked at each other and someone said, “Last year went well, let’s just do the same thing.” We let out a collective sigh of relief and Lent, once again, became
The mission of the church is to invite the broken and needy into a healing community, where they can find or deepen their relationship with Jesus and experience restoration in all aspects of their life. And so, as the pandemic set in, I helped launch a new online class
If you’ve been involved in ministry leadership for more than a year (and that includes almost all of us), you know that weekly worship-service planning can devolve into a mundane, lifeless routine. The struggle is real—I’ve been there for the past four decades. So let’s break free from the shackles
Parenting tips, strategies, and philosophies are well-resourced in our culture—through books, seminars, social media, and online resources. And in the contemporary church we’ve always been focused on the needs, developmental pathways, and spiritual formation of children. But, in many ways, we are just waking up to the needs, developmental
“For more information, please check the bulletin…” How many times have you heard that instruction at church? More important, how many people never hear it, or are tone-deaf to it? Church Communication should move from impersonal to personal Many churches still rely on traditional bulletins and emails to communicate to
When you think about the families in your congregation, what do you hope they can become? If you consider their “floor,” what is their “ceiling”? Consider the curious case of “Bandit and Chilli Heeler” (above), the dog-parents on the international hit kids show Bluey. Their floor is already the ceiling
The old saying goes: “The church is always one generation away from extinction.” Typically, we use that sort of “fear leverage” to double-down on attractional ministries for children and youth. I’ve heard ministry leaders use the “one generation” mantra to argue for the importance of church/parachurch-based ministries. But I’ve never
In our research work with churches across the country, we’ve “discovered” an obvious truth all over again—listening to people is a crucial spiritual discipline. In our Fourth-Soil Parenting Project, an expedition into fueling parent’s spiritual impact in their kids’ lives, we asked our 20 participating churches to launch this
Normal Rockwell’s best-known illustration is called “Freedom from Want”—I guarantee you’ve seen it before. It’s the quintessential Thanksgiving meme. But this iconic image of family togetherness and prosperity is, frankly, at odds with reality. I found a parody version of Rockwell’s Thanksgiving family gathering by artist Jerry Miller—in it, grandpa
How is the mission of the church, first handed to us by Jesus, defining and shaping our ministries? For example, the people who are showing up shape our missional focus—but what about the people who are not showing up? The absence of certain people, and the reasons behind their absence,
The world has a dwindling natural resource that’s been overlooked—it’s the skill of appreciation. You’ve probably noticed the difference in yourself when you’re around a leader who habitually appreciates the “wins” on your team, not merely camps on the “fixes.” New York Times columnist David Brooks, author of How to Know
f the culture we live in is the pond we swim in, some of the streams feeding into our pond carry toxins that pollute the water. These are relational toxins like betrayal, broken trust, wrong assumptions, and embedded lies. Sometimes these toxins are undetectable until we feel the impact of
A kind of sacred joy has always accompanied my celebration of Advent. But this year, as I prepared for our Advent journey, I carried a heavy weight in my soul. So much in the world is unsettled and disturbing. The war in Ukraine and now in Gaza marks, again, the
Business executives from around the world pay big bucks to attend seminars on “the Disney Way”—learning how leaders at this much-admired company build their culture, leverage business success, and treat their employees and guests. For a long time, the tech company Hewlett Packard has been known for its egalitarian, decentralized
Business executives from around the world pay big bucks to attend seminars on “the Disney Way”—learning how leaders at this much-admired company build their culture, leverage business success, and treat their employees and guests. For a long time, the tech company Hewlett Packard has been known for its egalitarian, decentralized
(EDITOR’S NOTE: At Vibrant Faith we’ve partnered with our team of ministry leadership coaches to name the obstacles and challenges the church has put in the way of a FAMILYING approach to the formation of faith. Check out a previous blog that sets the stage for this conversation with Obstacle
View Post Are you like most ministry leaders—struggling with a tendency to say “yes” to everything? Yes to helping someone on our “off” hours (whatever that means), yes to helping out in another volunteer role, yes to an additional responsibilities, yes to another project? Our plate is often so full
Recently, I was coaching a pastor, and he made an interesting discovery. He wondered what it would look like if his spiritual journey was more closely connected to his leadership practices. His curiosity intrigued me—maybe I’ve assumed this merger happens naturally (and I’m sure it does, sometimes). However, this pastor
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve heard an important truism more than once, so maybe that’s a nudge to sit up and pay attention… We have to name the truth about our obstacles before we can overcome them. Naming the truth about our lives is just as important for
As we begin the process of accompanying churches as they focus on and nurture the faith lives of parents through our 4th Soil Parenting Project funded by The Lilly Endowment, we will be reflecting here on our discoveries and challenges and hoping we can share those with you even as they
There’s no question that our post-pandemic church life is different… We have shifted yet again, and not toward consistent church attendance or support of faith-formation programs for children. While we need to take a deep dive into our current cultural reality, the research work fueling our Thriving Congregations grant
We have just come to a new realization in our Thriving Congregations Project. Because of it, we moved our 27 Thriving Congregations churches from cohort coaching to individual coaching for our last year of work together. We did this because we’re embracing a new aspect of what it means to
To put an exclamation point on this series of posts related to our new 4th Soil Parenting Initiative, here’s a reflection that I wrote a few years ago. It strikes me as even more timely today… There they were—millions of them camped on the edge of the promised land. Moses
A blog dropped into my inbox this week with a lead-off question: “Why is it so hard to engage parents?” The blogger followed that with several really good answers and tips for doing things differently, including… These are true and great insights… As long as you believe the focus of
How are you currently engaging the faith life of parents at your church? That’s the next big question, isn’t it? As Vibrant Faith Executive Director Rick Lawrence and I have been interviewing churches for our Lilly Endowment-sponsored 4th Soil Parenting Project (see my last blog for the details), that’s been a
At Vibrant Faith we’re grateful to begin 2023 with a big announcement… Thanks to a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment, we’ll be leading a learning community of 20 churches from across the U.S. geographical, denominational, cultural, and theological spectrum to plant new ways to fuel parents’ faith impact in
(NOTE: We asked Angela Gorrell, author of Always On, to work with churches in our Thriving Congregations project as they sought to expand their online formational practices. Here are Angela’s reflections on what they learned together…) Two hopeful teams from two churches met online with me on Zoom over the course
