Josh was one of the most zealous workers we'd seen at church, but I realized he was three steps beyond "weary in well doing" when I read his letter: "My walk with the Lord is nonexistent. I've allowed the pressure of church work to crowd out time with God. Now it seems impossible to get back in touch with him. We've also gotten seriously into debt, and I've been trying to do "ministry" while working ...
Many leaders of smaller movements and organizations try to make all the decisions themselves, and under certain circumstances this approach works well. But such leaders almost always crash and burn as the organization grows; or alternatively, the organization itself collapses when the original leader ages or becomes ill or dies.
Even in small organizations there are compelling reasons why a leader ...
On Pentecost last year, 850 gathered for worship beneath an enormous yellow-and-white tent on a church lawn in Falls Church, Virginia. Folding chairs were arranged in roughly the same configuration as pews in a planned sanctuary to be built on that site.
It was Celebration Sunday at The Falls Church (Episcopal), and for the first time in recent memory, the whole congregation worshiped as one. The co-chairs ...
The Case
"He was a negative thinker anyway," said a board member. "We may be better off without him."
A few board members stood around after the meeting, shell-shocked. Tim, a board member and long-time church attender, had just announced his resignation, saying his family was leaving the church. Our youth program was inadequate for the needs of his 13-year-old son, Tim said; his family would be joining ...
"He was a negative thinker anyway," said a board member. "We may be better off without him."
A few board members stood around after the meeting, shell-shocked. Tim, a board member and long-time church attender, had just announced his resignation, saying his family was leaving the church. Our youth program was inadequate for the needs of his 13-year-old son, Tim said; his family would be joining ...
Change Diplomacy Steps to take before a major decision. Larry W. Osborne
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Christians aren't the only ones who respond negatively to change. The reaction to change is more of a sociological problem than a spiritual problem. Here are steps to help reduce the conflict associated with change:
1. Test the waters. The first thing I do with a new idea is try to find out how people will react should the change actually take place. I start by asking a cross section of our people—board ...
Crisis Ready Tragedies are inevitable but never expected. When the next one occurs, will your church be strengthened or shattered? Mel Lawrenz
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Ministry means never knowing what the next phone call will bring. A complaint? A word of praise? Or soliciting? News of a birth, wedding plans, or a death? You never know. That's the nature of church ministry. We had two ministry-defining calls back to back.
One day I switched on my cell phone, and it immediately buzzed with an incoming text message. It was from my wife: SAD NEWS ABOUT MISSIONARIES. ...