The diminishing ministry skill that is most threatened in church culture is, simply, listening… I just named it a simple skill, but that doesn’t mean the effective, transformational practice of listening is what people generally think it is. Transformational listening is not a passive pursuit, like a catcher waiting for
A long time ago, I decided to live my life with Jesus by jumping into mud puddles instead of over them. A mud puddle, in my own strange vernacular, is anything Jesus said or did that we typically ignore, avoid, struggle to understand, or forget. The story of the Canaanite
My friend and longtime pastor Tom Melton once shared with me a sweet memory from his early parenting. As a young father he carried his toddler son into a swimming pool for the first time. As the water crept up around them, his son clung to him more desperately. And
I know… it’s a provocative title for this piece. Let me explain… Years ago I gave my wife, Bev, an eyebrow-raising birthday gift. I secretly paid the registration fee for something our health club calls “Booty Camp,” then surprised her with it. Booty Camp is a female-only, military-style morning workout
I’ve been a Christian for about 45 years now. That means I’ve been reading the Bible for a very long time. But the older I get, the more the Bible’s “onion layers” are peeled away—I find deeper meaning in what I’m reading as my relationship with Jesus deepens. It’s like
By Fred Oduyoye and Rick Lawrence Welcome to our post-election reality—the immersive division and polarization of our culture, our cities, and our neighborhoods continues. Already-strained relationships now have new news to swallow and wallow in. And all of us face new challenges as we follow Jesus into “love your
I was standing in the checkout lane at our neighborhood grocery store, waiting to pay while the checker scanned the things in my cart. She’d greeted me with a disinterested “hello,” but then turned to the bagger next to her to talk. And what she talked about, openly, was
We live in a culture rife with undermined trust… Politicians, public servants, business professionals, and pastors are distrusted at record levels. The pillars of ethical confidence that undergird a functioning society are disintegrating. In the latest Gallup Poll measuring the public’s ethical ratings for 23 professions, less than a third
At a large gathering for organizations (including Vibrant Faith) that are involved in a Lilly Endowment project called Thriving Congregations, I led a breakout session for ministry leaders interested in reaching young people. Around the table were eight leaders from diverse organizations, all of them wrestling with the challenges brought
Last weekend I was driving around town ticking off my to-do list and listening to an episode of This American Life, the much-acclaimed public-radio storytelling show hosted by Ira Glass. I catch the show mid-stream as Boen Wang, a 20-something Asian-American man describes the impact of his early life growing
Summer is the sound of crackling campfire, the smell of a fresh-cut lawn, the taste of fresh watermelon, and the feel of a frisbee caught in a park—all under a sunny blue sky. It’s the perfect time for families to go all-in on engaging each other, and the perfect time
Think of a cultural environment very familiar to you that is not your home—your church, workplace, health club, volunteer organization, or social group. Now consider these questions: What are the values of that culture? What are the priorities? What do you like and not like about it? In what ways
On a shelf filled with memorabilia was a box labeled “photos.” The box sat collecting dust for years, untouched until the death of my sister, Kim. We opened it to fill a memory board for the funeral, and to use some photos for the memorial slide show. So many questions
In a BBC Earth nature documentary, cameras follow a pair of hornbills (tropical birds) as they carry out a strange and inspiring mission. We watch as the “husband/wife” team preps for an upcoming brood of hatchlings. Together, they find a tree with a hollowed-out opening. The female climbs inside
Jesus often said things we don’t think He should’ve said—a case in point: “I came not to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). Is this the same Jesus we call “the prince of peace”? The same one who promised His disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I
Recent research reveals that 40 million Americans who used to go to church no longer do… These are the “nones”—people who are disaffiliating, deconstructing, reconstructing, and de-churching. People who once included churchgoing as a normal part of life, but no longer do. For the first time, in the eight decades that Gallup
What do we actually know about what’s going on inside the faith-life of the parents in our churches today? On some level, they’re longing to raise their children to know and love Jesus, but how is that going for them? Vibrant Faith has been asking these questions in a variety
These past few weeks have been filled with shock and grief after the sudden death of my sister. We, her family, are broken. My healthy, 61-year-old sister tripped and fell—so how do we make sense of that as the beginning of the end for her? We are riding the waves
It’s maybe the oldest “shop talk” topic in ministry—Why can’t or won’t parents take responsibility for forming faith in their children? And, always threaded into this conversation, our common conclusion—This is why church and parachurch ministry leaders simply have to step in and teach the next generation of children and
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
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
Every day brings a new reminder that—on both a macro and micro scale—we human beings have a very hard time getting along. Tension leads to division leads to a rupture in relationship… And that leads to harm, violence, and even war. Our natural ecosystem breeds relational weeds. And that’s why
We all know that reinventing how we do things is essential for keeping up in today’s ever-changing ministry environment. We’re always finding ways to adapt and innovate. But beyond the obvious reasons for continuous improvement, reinvention invites us into a deeper spiritual practice… At its core, reinventing ourselves requires an
In our Vibrant Faith coaching relationships with congregations, we often tell ministry leaders: “If you want to change your congregation, change what you talk about.” Our conversations must be aligned with our mission. Therefore, if we want to help our congregation live into its mission, then we have to make
Just a ballpark guess, but let’s say 95% of people hate conflict and will actively avoid it if they can. Of the remaining 5%, some relish conflict because they have bullying tendencies. And the tiny percentage that remains actually have a healthy, inspiring, and impactful relationship with conflict. They see
By Jim LaDouxDirector of Coaching & Coaching School “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” –Matthew 11:28 ESV The Sabbath moments of the soul are those brief glimpses we all have of unexpected wonder and unlooked-for surprise—the feeling of being ambushed by beauty. In
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
We already know, and have known for a long time, that “status quo” is never the goal of growing organizations or thriving faith communities. Stagnation is just the first stage in the death process. And yet, we can’t seem to quit the lure of entropy. Moving beyond the status quo
I live in the upper Midwest, and like many parts of the nation, smoke from Canadian wildfires has infiltrated our sky. It can turn the best day into a gray-sky day… Likewise, for the past three years since the pandemic, we’re living in a cultural gray-zone. I’m sure you, like
