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Vibrant Faith Articles

Vibrant Faith's writing team of certified coaches, ministry leaders, and researchers publishes three times a week on leadership development, coaching for ministry leaders, and applied ministry research.

Vibrant Faith Leadership - Articles

Be a Better Mirror

Life is all about our true identity—Jesus came to rescue us (the people he created us to be) from the destruction of sin and graft us into the family of the Trinity. Meanwhile, Jesus tells us that the Enemy’s goal is to “kill, steal, and destroy”—dismantling our identity by twisting

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What to Do About ‘Shoulding’?

Time Magazine calls Dr. Becky Kennedy, a 40-year-old Manhattan psychologist and mother of three, “the Millennial Parenting Whisperer.” Dr. Becky, as her legions of fans call her, started offering short parenting videos on an Instagram account she launched in 2020. She quickly went from no followers to almost a million

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The Roots of Reconciliation

We’ve all felt awkward and uncomfortable trying to navigate the icebergs in our cultural ocean. We see the tips of our wrong assumptions, our ignorance, our biases, and our divisions floating on the surface, and worry that if we get too close to them in our relationships we’ll gouge a

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Reinvention as a Spiritual Practice

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

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How to Change Your Congregation

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

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5 ‘Ocean Buoys’ We Need – Voice Recognition

(EDITOR’S NOTE: A few months ago, on a team retreat, our Vibrant Faith Team read Australian pastor and culture expert Mark Sayers’ new book A Non-Anxious Presence. Sayers makes the case that we’re no longer navigating on land, with solid ground under our feet. We’re more like sailors getting used to

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The Golden Opportunities of Conflict

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

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5 ‘Ocean Buoys’ We Need – Adaptability

(EDITOR’S NOTE: A few months ago, on a team retreat, our Vibrant Faith Team read Australian pastor and culture expert Mark Sayers’ new book A Non-Anxious Presence. Sayers makes the case that we’re no longer navigating on land, with solid ground under our feet. We’re more like sailors getting used to

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5 ‘Ocean Buoys’ We Need – Activation Opportunities

(EDITOR’S NOTE: A few months ago, our Vibrant Faith Team retreated together at a lakeshore Air BnB in North Carolina. In advance, we all read Australian pastor and culture expert Mark Sayers’ new book A Non-Anxious Presence. Our team spent two days exploring the book’s insights and, in tandem with

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Faith Formation - Articles

The Other American Dream

The American Dream is our secular religion—it has so shaped our collective aspirations that any violation of its premise is treated as something like sin. Author James Truslow, in his Depression-era book Epic of America, took a first stab at defining this American entitlement: “That dream of a land in which

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Good Soil Resolutions

A decade ago I wrote a book called Shrewd: Daring to Live the Startling Command of Jesus—the book explores, in depth, Jesus’ “Parable of the Shrewd Manager” in Luke 16, taking seriously His parting instructions to His disciples: “Be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Boiled down,

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4 Faith Practices for Spiritual Wellbeing

The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers dietary guidelines for living a healthy life—we call the structure of these guidelines the “Food Groups.” Well, what about “Spiritual Food Groups”? These four faith practices—caring conversation, devotions, service, and rituals/traditions—represent the basic ways we stay whole and healthy as followers of Jesus. They

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Use Abuse

I hear it all the time, in diverse contexts… “Use” is surely the preferred way we describe God’s posture toward us as we exercise our gifts in ministry… I’m guessing you’ve framed your own relationship with God in terms of “use” at least once in the last week—that’s how common

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The Taekwondo of the Nativity

When the great contemporary theologian, U2’s Bono, decided to survey the landscape of grace in the confines of a three-minute rock song, here’s a portion of the lyric he wrote: GraceShe takes the blameShe covers the shameRemoves the stainIt could be her name GraceIt’s a name for a girlIt’s also a

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Fuel for Persevering in Ministry

In Luke’s Gospel Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow—a woman who won’t stop bothering an uncaring, disbelieving judge until he grants her justice. Then Jesus tells His disciples that persistence is important—it’s a marker for faith. “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge,” says Jesus. “Even he rendered

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9 Books That Have Changed My Life

Bookshelves line the walls of our home—I’ll never be a Kindle guy because I love the physical presence (and the musty smell!) of printed books enveloping my everyday spaces. Books have never been a commodity to consume; they’re more like the building blocks of my soul… And I like to

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The Infused Life with God

The time from Thanksgiving through the end of the year is always so full. Yes, busy, but also just full—rich for the time we spend with family, and big, rich meals too. We focus on preparing to welcome others, and we reflect on the year coming to an end. This

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The Jesus Net

Earlier this week I met with a friend who’s recently moved into the lead pastor role at his church, after more than a decade as its youth pastor. He’s persevering through a hard transition, moving the church’s culture toward a more Jesus-centered focus. He’s trying to make Jesus the main

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Vibrant Faith Coaching - Articles

Why I’m Investing Myself In Coaching School

One night in late December, the plans I’d cooked up for 2023 evaporated before the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve. With the decks cleared of clutter, one exciting option remained—Vibrant Faith’s 12-week Ministry Leadership Coaching School. The school is led by Vibrant Faith’s Director of Coaching Services, Jim LaDoux, and

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Dealing with Difficult People

If you’ve ever been on a whitewater rafting adventure, you’ll remember that rafting guides know how to address unhelpful behavior right away—if they don’t, difficult people can ruin the experience for everyone, or even put their safety at risk. Likewise, when ministry leaders fail to address counterproductive behavior on their

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5 Phrases That Unlock Growth

When we’re effectively coaching others toward growth in their leadership or their faith journey, we’re asking great questions and prompting deeper responses. Effective coaches draw out a person’s wisdom and call forth new possibilities. I track which questions and phrases that I use in coaching situations and note which ones

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4 Faith Practices for Spiritual Wellbeing

The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers dietary guidelines for living a healthy life—we call the structure of these guidelines the “Food Groups.” Well, what about “Spiritual Food Groups”? These four faith practices—caring conversation, devotions, service, and rituals/traditions—represent the basic ways we stay whole and healthy as followers of Jesus. They

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10 Disciplines of an Agile Church

In Dr. Dwight J. Zscheile’s seminal book The Agile Church, the professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary lays out an alternate vision for churches that have struggled to respond to a rapidly changing culture and widespread decline. Learning churches, says Zscheile, are about fostering spaces in which people

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5 Barriers to a Welcoming Church Environment

Maybe you’ve already put all the right systems in place for your hospitality ministry—training greeters, a well-staffed Welcome Center, and a follow-up system for communications. You’re playing all the right notes, but there’s something missing in the melody. Maybe that missing melody is relational warmth. Without it, guests and “regulars” at

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What is Coaching?

The International Coach Federation defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” Coaching frames conversations through powerful questions that help clients achieve their desired outcomes. When you refer to the International Coach Federation’s definition of coaching or

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Breathing New Life into Ministry

Every repetitive thing we do in life is in danger of a dulling descent into rote. And our ministry rhythms are not immune. Week after week we plan worship. Year after year we start new ministries and add fuel to existing ones. It can feel like rinse and repeat; wax

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Hope and Expect

By Denise UtterVibrant Faith Coaching Team As August tails off into September, I often reflect back to my teacher days. I loved the end of August and looked forward to new blank notebooks, clean 16-month calendars, new pens, sharpened pencils, and an array of colored highlighters (oh the color-coding)! It

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Vibrant Faith Research - Articles

Religion as a ‘Personal Identity Accessory’

By Rick LawrenceVibrant Faith Executive Director Dr. Nancy Going and I have been leading a four-week book club for our Vibrant Faith Catalyst community (https://vibrant-faith-catalyst.mn.co), focusing on Dr. Christian Smith’s new book Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion On to the Next Generation. Among the many, many eye-opening and

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The Power of Coming Alongside- Youth Faith Formation

Yes, we believe God is at work, “telling a better story” in all our lives—whether we’re adults, youth, or children. But often, especially with young people, we live out a tacit belief that all learning and discovery flows one way—we expect adults to pass on the work of God to children and

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helping parents hand down their faith

Helping Parents Hand Down the Faith

By Rev. Dr. Nancy GoingDirector of Research & Resource Development This is part one of a series on helping parents hand down the faith. She teaches her daughters how to pray for people when they need support: “About four or five times my middle girl has had to come to ask

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What We’re Learning: Taking It All In

It’s been a week, hasn’t it?  We thought we were getting ready to launch our new ideas for the Fall, gearing up for Fall Kickoffs and re-opening our ministry programs in a return to “normal.” But all that is taking a back seat to a resurgent pandemic, once again… Now

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What We’re Learning: Surfacing God-Given Purpose In Others

By Dr. Nancy GoingDirector of Research & Resource Development Kathleen Cahalan (professor at St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN) has a unique calling.  She studies calling and vocation. She’s worked to re-articulate the theology of calling for today’s world, but also studies how and where the Christian theological theme of calling

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What We’re Learning: The Call to Coach

By Dr. Nancy GoingDirector of Research & Resource Development One crucial aspect of the experiment that Vibrant Faith built into our Creating a Culture of Calling grant was a key structural feature that focused on congregational coaching. In retrospect, we’ve discovered that this had a singular impact on the outcomes of our

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What We’re Learning: Creating Space for Stories

By Dr. Nancy GoingDirector of Research & Resource Development When I was in college and STILL not sure what I wanted to major in, my high school pastor just happened to visit my church over the summer. When he saw me, he told me about a program he was leading that

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What We’re Learning: Creating Space for Stories

By Dr. Nancy GoingDirector of Research & Resource Development Editor’s Note: Over the next several months, we’ll continue to share insights we’ve gleaned from Vibrant Faith’s Creating a Culture of Calling Initiative, a Lilly Endowment-Funded Initiative.   When I was in college and STILL not sure what I wanted to major in,

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What We’re Learning: How Calling Is Lived-Out

By Dr. Nancy GoingDirector of Research & Resource Development Seven of our Vibrant Faith coaches are in the process of closing our three years of work with the 24 “Calling Congregations” that have been part of our Lilly Foundation-sponsored Creating a Culture of Calling research project. The coaches are finishing with

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