Posts Tagged: church growth

Hopeful Church

The smallest things Can make the biggest difference by N. Graham Standish    “He never follows through,” the church member complained. “What do you mean?” I asked. “He’ll call and say he’s going to drop by the hospital, or check up on us later, or send us something, but he never does. I think that’s… Read more »

Hopeful Church

Does our leadership heal . . . or inflict pain? by N. Graham Standish  I recently talked with a frustrated and disappointed pastor who was in tremendous pain over her struggling church. As I listened to her story, I suddenly had an insight: Perhaps everyone who comes to church is in pain. Perhaps everyone who… Read more »

Hopeful Church

Building on a Blessed Community Recognizing the Church’s True Center by Graham Standish Years ago I read a quote by the Quaker mystic, Thomas Kelly, that changed my ministry: “Yet ever within that Society, and ever within the Christian church, has existed the Holy Fellowship, the Blessed Community, an ekklesiola in ekklesia, a little church… Read more »

Hopeful Church

  Are we yelling too much? How to train church leaders effectively by Graham Standish  I used to get yelled at a lot. Anyone who’s ever played sports has gotten yelled at, but I felt like coaches yelled at me more than most. Someone once told me that it’s when coaches stop yelling that you… Read more »

Hopeful Church

Maybe We Just Don’t Get It!  … or teaching old dogs new tricks by Graham Standish “Dad,… you just don’t get it!” How many times have I heard that refrain from one of my daughters? “Okay,… help me get it,” I reply. They just roll their eyes and mutter, “Never mind.” Not getting it is the… Read more »

Hopeful Church

What Good Is a Vision without a Path? You can’t tell a congregation where to go if you don’t tell then how to get there by Graham Standish In the King James Version of the Bible, there’s a lovely phrase that’s been quoted often by those teaching church leadership: “Where there is no vision, the… Read more »

justleros: more than nonsense / más que disparates

Like a hired hand A Revised Common Lectionary resource for April 22 by Magdalena I. García ‘The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away — and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.’ – John 10:12 Read the… Read more »

The Church for Today

Mystery Box Outsiders wonder what’s inside church  by Richard Hong   I used to live near a business that had an innocuous name – I forget what it was. There would usually be just a few cars parked outside. The windows had blinds covering them. I never figured out what it was. Was it a… Read more »

Barn Boots and Blessings

The Christmas prayer tree A rural church reaches out in an unexpected way by Donna Frischknecht Jackson   Silence fell upon the room. A woman at my table waved to the waitress to order another glass of wine. A good diversion on her part, I thought. Others around me glanced down at the meeting agenda,… Read more »

Unglued church

Learning to let go Embracing what we cannot see By Sarah Robbins   “You really should just go ahead and embrace it.” When something new is happening in our life, like a change in job or relationship, people will often offer this perspective. When we are in pain or in grief or a little of… Read more »